‘I can’t say it was a good weekend’: Alleged drink-driving cop to face possible disciplinary action
Police breath tested over 5000 drivers — inlcuding an off duty cop allegedly caught three times over the limit — and handed out about 130 on the spot fines during their Easter road safety blitz.
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POLICE breath tested over 5000 drivers for booze and handed out about 130 on the spot fines during a recent Easter road safety blitz.
NT Police Commander Matthew Hollamby said police were out in force over Easter as a part of Operation Thalen, targeting drink driving, vehicle registration and roadworthiness.
He said an off duty police officer was one of five people that were caught drink driving during the operation, along with six drivers who tested positive for drugs.
“An off duty police officer was detected with a high-range reading for drunk driving,” he said.
“It’s not in accordance with our ethics, that person will appear in court, and there’s potential disciplinary consequences depending on the outcome.”
Cdr Hollamby said police also handed out 134 traffic infringement notices over the weekend.
One motor vehicle was seized for hooning, and one driver was apprehended by cops for avoiding a breath test.
“I can’t say it was a good weekend,” Cdr Hollamby said.
“Despite the modest numbers of people that were detected drunk and drunk driving, a person has died on our roads over Easter.”
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Major Crash Investigation is still looking into the circumstances of a fatal crash that led to a man’s death on the Stuart Hwy, 60km north of Alice Springs.
Cdr Hollamby said police also saw a spike in break-ins across Darwin and Palmerston over Easter.
He said stealing alcohol was a common factor in a number of the incidents that police were called to.
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