A veteran Edmonton police sergeant was demoted a rank Tuesday after he was found guilty of discreditable conduct for drinking and driving and then lying to his superior about it.

Randy Goss was demoted to constable at a disciplinary hearing Tuesday. The punishment will last for two years and amounts to a $30,000 loss in pay.

Sgt. Tony Simioni, head of the Edmonton Police Association, called the demotion "unprecedented and excessive." He said he's never seen someone demoted from a promoted rank for something other than a criminal conviction.

"We don't want to make light of the allegations or the need to not drive when you've been drinking. We want to reinforce that is a serious allegation," Simioni said.

"But the fact is he was not charged with impaired driving here. He was charged with discreditable conduct. Yes, he deserves some kind of sanction, perhaps. But we are concerned with the level applied here."

Firing too harsh, presiding officer rules

Goss was found guilty of two counts of discreditable conduct for an incident on Nov. 20, 2007 when he was drinking at a restaurant while off-duty with some other officers.

Goss got behind the wheel even after he was warned by bar staff not to drive. After Goss' license plate number was broadcast over the police radio, his superior called him. Goss denied he was at the restaurant, stating instead he had been home all night.

In his decision, Supt. Mark Logar, the presiding officer, said deceit "kills public trust" and that police officers can't break the law one day and then enforce it the next, because it diminishes their moral authority to arrest people for similar offences. Logar ruled that firing Goss would be too harsh, but at the same time, he wanted to send out a strong message to Goss, the public and the rest of the police force that this type of behaviour cannot be tolerated.

The police association is looking at its options for appealing the sentence. Simioni says the police association has lab results from the RCMP that shows Goss was not impaired that night.

Goss has been with Edmonton Police for 22 years.