A Bay of Plenty police officer has been sentenced after admitting two driving related charged, including driving with excess breath alcohol.
The 38-year old admitted two driving offences in the Whakatane District Court on Tuesday, following an incident in Edgecumbe earlier this month.
The charges follow a single-vehicle crash involving a police vehicle at the corner of Otakiri Road and Main Street, Edgecumbe, at 8.30pm on April 6.
The officer pleaded guilty to one count of careless driving, and one count of driving with excess breath alcohol.
He was convicted and sentenced to six months' disqualification, a $1000 fine and $2013 in reparation.
The on-duty officer was the sole occupant of the police vehicle, and was not injured in the crash.
The public rightly expects high standards from police staff, says Bay of Plenty District Commander Superintendent Andy McGregor.
"We set high professional standards for ourselves and demand integrity from our staff, in terms of judgement, choices and actions.
"The vast majority of our staff act in accordance with police's values.
"He is currently stood down and as police have initiated an employment process we are unable to comment further on the matter."
3 comments
Disappointing
Posted on 28-04-2021 11:58 | By Yadick
Disappointing actions that could've had very serious consequences however we all make bad mistakes. Justice has been served so it's time to move forward.
@Yadick
Posted on 29-04-2021 15:34 | By morepork
The trouble is that Justice may NOT have been served for people he arrested. (See the other piece about this on Sun Live). The whole question of credibility is compromised when cops are drunk on duty. We can be thankful this is rare, but it needs to be jumped on and the seriousness of it not underplayed. You or I getting a few beers will not threaten someone else's freedom; but if we are cops on duty, then it could.
@ morepork
Posted on 30-04-2021 09:01 | By Yadick
You're right. I have just read the other article. I had grossly underestimated the situation. I didn't realise he'd had that much to drink. Hugely irresponsible and unacceptable. Without question should be removed from the force. Fortunately this does not reflect our Police.
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to make a comment.