Speeding cop loses appeal
Canterbury | Tuesday, 24 February 2009
A policeman's appeal against a serious driving conviction has been dismissed by the High Court with a warning that "the greater the speed, the greater the risk".
Aaron Holmes, 29, was convicted in the Auckland District Court of aggravated careless use of a motor vehicle causing injury after a pursuit went horribly wrong.
Holmes lost control of his vehicle while pursuing a driver who had avoided a checkpoint in August 2007. He crashed into a car waiting at a pedestrian crossing outside an Auckland primary school, before striking a lamp-post that fell on Mt Roskill Grammar pupil Farhat Buksh leaving the 13-year-old with serious brain injuries.
Judge Ian McHardy convicted Holmes and ruled that his speed at the crash estimated to have been 70-80kmh in a 50kmh speed zone was without justification.
Justice John Priestley agreed with the judge in the High Court at Auckland yesterday, dismissing a defence argument that Holmes' speed was protected by the laws that govern police pursuits.
Defence lawyer James Maddox had argued Holmes' job was at risk because of his conviction a punishment that would exceed the crime, given he had already been disqualified from driving for a year and a day, and ordered to pay his victim $3000.
Justice Priestley sympathised with the uncertainty around Holmes' employment, but said the charge was a serious one and the consequences for the victim had been serious. Fairfax
http://www.stuff.co.nz/thepress/4857411a24035.html
