CCTV footage shows moment senior police officer crashes into concrete barrier

The senior cop drank at least 19 drinks with mates before getting behind the wheel of an unmarked police car.

The moment a senior police officer crashed a work car while drunk in Sydney’s NorthConnex tunnel has been revealed in damning CCTV footage.

The officer, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was convicted of mid-range drink-driving in Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday morning.

He was given a community corrections order of two years, a $1100 fine, an interlock order and a six-month licence disqualification period.

The inspector crashed their unmarked car into a concrete barrier in Sydney’s NorthConnex tunnel in May 2023 before fleeing the scene and ditching the car in a nearby street.

During a sentencing hearing, a series of videos were played revealing both the hours leading up to the crash, in which the officer is said to have drunk at least 19 drinks before he got behind the wheel, as well as CCTV of the crash itself.

Footage from a public bar in the city shows the officer swaying as he drank with friends about 10.43pm.

The officer was convicted of mid-range drink driving. Picture: Supplied

The officer is then seen dancing for several minutes.

Almost two hours later, the officer is captured in CCTV stumbling along George St in the CBD, where he tripped over a bollard.

At 1.44am, the officer is seen driving a white car north in the NorthConnex tunnel as he veers between lanes, at one point driving in the middle of the road.

A minute later, he collides with a concrete divider in the middle of the tunnel before fleeing the scene and ditching the car on a nearby street.

In her sentencing, magistrate Jennifer Wong described the officer’s driving as “erratic” and said the offending was a “serious example” of mid-range drink-driving.

“The total length of his journey was to be 99km, and the crash occurred after 33km into that travel … in that time the public was exposed to a risk of injury,” she said.

The man’s solicitor, Tim Lowe, told the court on Tuesday that his client had shown genuine remorse and had also repaid in full for the damage he caused to the barrier in the tunnel.

“This is a serious case … but in saying that my client knows he did the wrong thing,” Mr Lowe argued in court.

The officer had been in the force for an “extended period of time”, Mr Lowe added, and during this time had displayed a “determination and commitment to better the community of NSW”.

“He has done so by being at the forefront of investigating serious crime and putting himself in harm’s way time and time again,” he said.

“He should receive credit for his prior good history and conduct.”

In the officer’s written statement to police, he said he believed he was OK to drive at the time.

Ms Wong said a community corrections order and a fine was an appropriate punishment given the officer’s need to care for his unwell mother and the need to treat an ongoing mental health condition.

Originally published as CCTV footage shows moment senior police officer crashes into concrete barrier