Police apologise after 'Irish' mix up

Waikato Police have issued an apology after wrongly assuming a driver with a kayak lying sideways across the roof of his car was a tourist.

The man - believed to be New Zealander Jonathan Waters according to ONE News – was pulled over as he drove along a Coromandel highway, but has escaped a fine after police presumed he was visiting from Ireland.


The man was pulled over by police with a kayak lying horizontally across the roof of his car.

District road policing manager, Inspector Freda Grace, says when an officer stopped the man on SH25 to speak to him about the danger his kayak was posing, the man's accent sounded Irish.

'Unfortunately we did not check his identity documents and as a result the driver was issued a warning, ordered to remove the kayak and told to head back into town to get suitable transport arranged for the kayak before continuing his journey,” she says.

'In this case the officer believed obtaining compliance from the motorist and preventing a crash was a more effective outcome than issuing the driver a fine and she believed she was enhancing foreign relations.”

However, following a police press release late yesterday afternoon, Waters took to his Facebook page to condemn the assumption.

'So apparently I am an Irish tourist who decided that tying my kayak onto the car sideways was the plan A of the day,” read his post.

'Good old Kiwi cops and their direct quotes of immense untruthfulness. And no mention of the twisted metal that was the roof racks, nor the storm that caused it. Sigh.”

According to his online profile, Waters is a former Selwyn College student from Auckland.

Freda says in this case, while the man was a visitor to the region, he was not Irish and 'as a result Waikato Police wish to offer an unreserved apology to any persons of Irish descent we may have offended”.

She says regardless of the driver's nationality, the main focus of the incident remained road safety and the risks posed by the driver to other road users should not be forgotten.

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17 comments

Even worse.

Posted on 17-12-2014 17:12 | By dgk

Not a tourist. So how did he ever pass a drivers license?


i see stupid people

Posted on 17-12-2014 17:33 | By i see stupid people

sounds like a case of the blind leading the blind.


Luck of the Irish

Posted on 17-12-2014 18:17 | By Calm Gully

He should be thankful, he got away with just a warning! If he was driving defensively, he would have noticed what the wind had done. Sounded like a very dangerous situation. Let it be a warning.:)


My Aologies

Posted on 17-12-2014 18:20 | By Surfwatch

My apologies to Irish citizens. Here is a prime example of the news being made prior to an outcome (ala Phill Rudd). Perhaps we should stick to confirmed convictions before posting news. Mind you it could only be an Irishman who would drive like that. Haha.


April Fool

Posted on 17-12-2014 18:20 | By Surfwatch

Police are the fools here.


Well then,

Posted on 17-12-2014 18:22 | By nerak

as a local he should be more aware of the idiocy of his method of kayak conveyance,in fact, the Police should turn around and charge him for his sheer stupidity + endangering others. If the roof rack was twisted, find another method of transport, don't blame anyone but yourself for this unbelievable selfish stupidity. Bet he knows the Coro roads well enough to realise how idiotic his idea was. Gimme strength!!!


no brains

Posted on 17-12-2014 19:16 | By Ness

so you're not Irish just a drop kick , I just imagine coming around a corner to this on my bike and people saying it was a motorbike accident


Irish?

Posted on 18-12-2014 01:33 | By YOGI BEAR

Or not it makes for a good read on the lunatic almost local doing it. Cant say that actually makes any difference to the saga here and how mad it all was.


Not Irish...

Posted on 18-12-2014 01:54 | By GreertonBoy

Just an idiot... he needs to get some better roof racks... better still, two sets of roof racks... to be sure, to be sure LOL Cops are human too.... give her a break.... and be thankful she never booked you.... until she sees you again.... stay low bro....hide LOL


Another good old kiwi driver.

Posted on 18-12-2014 06:09 | By monty1212

All these idiots mouthing off about tourists bad driving etc. and all along it was the usual stupid Kiwi keeping up the tradition of being some of the worst drivers in the world!


Lesson here is...

Posted on 18-12-2014 07:40 | By Spy

Do something stupid on the road. Get caught. Put on a funny accent. Get let off.


Come on NZ

Posted on 18-12-2014 10:12 | By Jackson

My husband was just over on road users (no excuses there I know!) and he got a $200 ticket! This guy was unsafe to himself and others and got an apology!


large

Posted on 18-12-2014 10:31 | By Capt_Kaveman

fine for stupidity eg $500 and wonders why he got off?


enhancing foreign relations?

Posted on 18-12-2014 10:36 | By wtf

So the assumption was he was a tourist..a warning was issued instead of a fine to "enhance foreign relations." Wasn't there comments a few months back about crashes/accidents involving tourists. You have to wonder how many tourists driving on our roads unsafely have been let off to "enhance foreign relations".


Poses the Question

Posted on 18-12-2014 12:03 | By The Sage

Who really is the idiot? The Police seem to have made a major error of judgment and it sounds like this guy has had no repercussions.


people jump to conclusions

Posted on 18-12-2014 16:52 | By m and ms

This is the version of events as not reported by the Waikato times. One of the cars occupants posted on face book. As soon as the kayak was turned around the people stopped hence no ticket. They attempted to flag down police who started to drive by laughing. The one that did stop refused to help. Lets not let the facts get in the way of headlines


Snivelling apology from police

Posted on 19-12-2014 10:13 | By Phailed1

I'm wondering what's worse, the kayak crossways (which was possibly a joke), or the whole police thing where they find they somehow need to apologise to people of Irish descent??? What has the politically correct world come to? Most of us make jokes and can actually take jokes about ourselves. The NZ police need to get on with the real business of solving real crime. By the way I don't believe the figures that show crime dropping. It's just the way incidents are recorded.


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