NT Police Senior Constable Clinton Richardson fined $4600 for dangerous driving
A veteran road police officer on the prowl for dodgy road users repeatedly broke the law by starting high-speed chases. See what punishment he faced after being “transferred to Siberia”.
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A Territory traffic cop on the prowl for dangerous drivers has been convicted over his “wilful ignorance” on the limits on police powers in the Territory.
Judge John Neill said the behaviour of Senior Constable Clinton Andrew Richardson “beggars belief” after the veteran traffic cop pleaded guilty to three counts of dangerous driving .
The 54-year-old police officer appeared in Darwin Local Court on Wednesday to plead guilty to driving his police-issue BMW motorcycle in excess of 45km/h over the limit at Virginia, Leanyer and Knuckey Lagoon.
In all three instances, Richardson was on duty on a police bike, in pursuits he believed were legal to catch motorists disobeying minor road rules.
The court heard Richardson reached 210km/h — more than double the Stuart Hwy 100km/h speed limit — to caution a driver for going 8km/h over the limit.
Richardson was on duty as a traffic cop when he spotted the station wagon going over the limit in Virginia on October 27.
His lawyer Ray Murphy said the car initially slowed when passing the police office but sped up again.
Richardson then chucked a U-turn across the highway and revved the motorcycle to its top speed covering 1.5km in just 27 seconds.
To catch a ute missing a number plate travelling 17km/h over the limit at Vanderlin Dr, Leanyer, Richardson reached speeds of 150km/h in an 80km/h zone on November 9.
A week later, the traffic cop drove at triple the legal speed limit down a service road at Knuckey Lagoon on November 16.
When a motorcyclist was spotted crossing an unbroken white line on McMillans Rd, Richardson pursued the driver at 180km/h in a 60km/h zone.
Mr Murphy said the motorcyclist was an anti-vaxxer and opposed the random breath test, and later filed a complaint with police.
After investigating the complaint and reviewing body-cam footage the internal Professional Standards Command investigators were forced to charge Richardson with dangerous driving.
The police officer declined to be interviewed on December 1.
Prosecutor Nicola Wright said there were no extraordinary circumstances to explain why the traffic cop needed to put himself and other road users in jeopardy.
“The speed was unreasonable, unnecessary and exposed other road users to unnecessary risk,” Ms Wright said.
“The necessity to travel at the speed did not outweigh the risk to public safety.”
Mr Murphy said his client was “mortified” by the charges, following an “unblemished police record” and 13 years with the NT traffic division.
He said Richardson knew full well the dangers of the road, having issued 20,000 traffic infringement notices, attended 560 crashes and dozens of fatalities.
The senior traffic cop was also often the face of the NT Police Christmas holiday road safety messaging.
“At first blush his offending seems to be at odds with his career as a police officer,” Mr Murphy said.
“He wasn’t speeding purely for the sake of it.”
Mr Murphy said the police officer was not being “unreasonable”, as he had made deliberate, conscious decisions to break the law to catch the minor traffic infringements.
“There’s no evidence to show he wasn’t taking sufficient care,” he said.
He said Richardson simply did not appreciate the limitations on police pursuit powers — a misunderstanding Mr Murphy said many in the force were not aware of.
“Members have told me ‘nah, nah, nah, we’re allowed to do this sort of thing’,” Mr Murphy said.
“The message is going to be very well noted and received — not only by my client, but every member of the Northern Territory Police force.”
Mr Neill said it was concerning there was not an understanding on the limits of police powers, with the General Orders stating an approach must be “justified”.
Reading from the police order, Mr Neill said in all instances of pursuit officers must make an evaluation, with the balance weighing “heavily in favour of the need for prudence, restraint and the absolute commitment to the protection of life”.
“The idea that chasing somebody... for the crime of exceeding the speed limit by 8km/h ... warrants travelling on a motorcycle at 210km/h is absurd,” he said.
“It beggars belief.”
“It appears from what I’ve heard today, to have developed a wilful ignorance on the part of Mr Richardson, and possibly other officers.”
Mr Neill acknowledged road policing was gruelling and difficult work, often exposing officers to trauma, grief and tragedy.
“(He’s) a veteran of all these years of service in the very area of policing which is most suited to have an enormous appreciation of the dangers of speeding,” he said.
“It’s not an issue of knowledge of legislation, it’s the lack of judgment.”
Mr Neill acknowledged that Richardson had been punished internally, by being moved out of the traffic policing unit to the Joint Emergency Services Communications Centre.
“It’s something like a transfer to Siberia for a police officer,” he said.
All three speeding convictions were confirmed, with Richardson facing a $4600 fine and a three-month licence suspension.
Originally published as NT Police Senior Constable Clinton Richardson fined $4600 for dangerous driving
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