The Authority was notified of a Police investigation into an incident where a Police officer was recorded by a Police speed detection device driving at 182kph, without activating his lights or siren.
The officer said he was driving urgently on a long stretch of road to catch up with another motorist that was speeding ahead of him.
An initial Police assessment of the officer’s driving concluded the speed in which he had been travelling met the threshold for a charge of driving with excess speed as well as the suspension of his driver’s licence. However, following a criminal investigation, a decision was made not to charge the officer. Instead, an employment process found that his actions were in breach of the Code of Conduct and he received an employment outcome.
The Authority does not agree with this outcome and considers the officer’s speed, whether he was urgent duty driving or not, was dangerous and unjustified in the circumstances. The Authority is also critical of the adequacy of the Police investigation that failed to explore in detail the circumstances of the incident leading to the excessive speed.
Unfortunately, this matter was not notified to the Authority until after the Police investigation was completed, thus denying the Authority the opportunity to oversee the investigation as part of its statutory function under the Independent Police Conduct Authority Act 1988.
IPCA: 22-11127