A day after a B.C. Mountie escaped impaired driving charges in a fatal traffic accident, some critics are calling for the closure of a legal loophole.
On Tuesday, the attorney general's office announced that Officer Monty Robinson would not be charged with impaired or dangerous driving causing death, and instead would face a lesser charge of obstruction of justice.
Robinson was off-duty when he hit and killed 21-year-old Orion Hutchinson, who was riding a motorcycle, in Delta.
Robinson has said that after the crash, he went home and had a few drinks - thus, throwing into question what his blood alcohol level was at the time of the accident.
Former Attorney General Wally Oppal says there is a loophole in the law known as the 'last drink defence.' He agrees that it needs to be closed.
"It was felt by many ministers of justice and attorneys general across the country that this defense was occurring all too frequently," he said. "It's another way of closing that avenue of acquittal, so that's being looked at by the federal government."
SFU criminology professor David McAlister said Wednesday he's concerned people will continue to drink and drive and think they can get away with it.
"I'd hate to think people are getting a lesson from this that there are ways to escape culpability, that they might try to imitate," he said.
A spokesperson for the current attorney general said the last-drink defence is a legitimate legal option.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Leah Hendry
