Can You Become a Police Officer With a DUI?
One of the most common legal violations that someone could commit is a DUI. People that have these on their records that want to discover if they could still become police officers will ask themselves if their prior conviction could impede them from doing so. Disqualification Appeals New York is here to give our potential clients a detailed explanation of the ramifications that a DUI conviction could have on your future as a police officer.
Can you become a police officer with a DUI? Continue reading below to learn more from our NYPD Disqualification Appeal Lawyer.
Can You Still Become a Police Officer With a DUI?
If you have received a DUI, the standing of your application will depend mostly on the circumstances of your arrest and the ensuing court case. If your DUI was considered a felony, you have little to no chance of getting accepted into the police force. Since most DUIs are misdemeanors, being convicted of one does not usually mean that becoming a police officer is out of reach. While it is still possible to join the police force after getting a DUI, it does make your application less attractive.
Can You Become a Police Officer With 2 DUIs?
An important consideration to hold when we are discussing whether or not someone could become a police officer with 2 DUIs is the fact that getting multiple DUIs could eventually result in a felony DUI conviction. A felony DUI would make becoming a police officer in the NYPD or any other jurisdiction essentially impossible.
While a second DUI is technically not completely disqualifying, it does make it more possible for that one to get elevated to a felony charge, depending on the severity of the case. Also, as previously mentioned, while not completely disqualifying, having multiple DUIs makes your application radically less competitive than someone who has none.
Is a DUI a Felony?
As you probably already know, being convicted of a felony is a disqualifier for someone that wants to become a police officer. While a single, stand-alone DUI is rarely a felony, there are some factors that could turn it into one. These include if someone that has been convicted of a DUI injured or killed someone during the act, if their passengers incurred bodily injury, or if they have been convicted of any other DUIs. Having one or many of these factors in a DUI case could elevate it to a felony DUI conviction.
More About Disqualification Appeals
So, can you become a police officer with a DUI? The answer largely depends on the circumstances surrounding your conviction and if it could be elevated to a felony charge. Aside from giving our readers and potential clients useful information like this, we are also dedicated to helping them achieve their goals of becoming NYPD officers, even if they have received their NYPD Notice of Proposed Disqualification. Contact us today to learn more about our NYPD psychological disqualification appeal, NYPD character disqualification, and NYPD medical disqualification.