RIDE's top cop suspended for alleged intoxication

The officer responsible for the Toronto police's impaired-driving prevention program is suspended and under investigation after some of his subordinates reported he appeared to be intoxicated at work.

Supt. Earl Witty was sent home on Friday, but there has been no confirmation that Witty was in fact intoxicated.

Witty is head of the traffic services department and responsible for the RIDE (Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere) program.

The chair of the police services board, Alok Mukherjee, told CBC News there will be an internal investigation.

"As happens in these cases, there will be an investigation that has started," he said. "And we now have to wait for the investigators to ascertain all the facts and make their findings. At which point, whatever appropriate action is required will have to be taken." 

The investigation will determine if Witty was intoxicated and, if so, how he travelled to work that day.

No charges have been laid and police say it is not a criminal investigation.