I would think being convicted of breaking the law WHILE you are employed to uphold and enforce it would be more serious...but I guess that is just too sensible. If the victim sues the pants of this guy for the assault... will the union pay for it since he was not on duty at the time?
He wasn't on duty was he! In fact, the article said he booked off sick, so he'll get shit for that too. He can be reassigned, should be demoted for some time. If he gets sued, he's on his own for expenses.
I support the police 97.63% of the time. This guy wasn't on official duty; I actually have a huge concern with him ditching work to watch the superbowl. That creates overtime, and places another officer at risk when he/she should be home.
You cannot have a criminal record for which a pardon hasn't been granted prior to hire. There are 100's of acts that one could get a criminal record for that shouldn't cause work issues. Again, this guy (not acting as an officer) has issues, I'm sure that he'll receive some sanctions from the NRPS, maybe even forced early retirement.