Drunk cop convicted and fined

A long-serving policeman has been convicted of drink-driving after a session at a police station bar.

Senior Constable Samuel James Withers, 42, was stopped at a checkpoint in Hastings on the way to get a takeaway after seven or eight beers at the town's police station club in February.

He had a breath-alcohol level of 522mcg. The legal limit is 400mcg.

Samuels, who has 19 years of service, was convicted at Hastings District Court on Friday.

He was fined $500, ordered to pay $130 costs and banned from driving for six months.

Defence counsel Scott Jefferson applied for a discharge without conviction.

The application was opposed by police prosecutor Shelley Watson-Hughes and declined by Judge Phillip Cooper.

The court heard Withers spent up to five hours in the police bar, celebrating a colleague's birthday.