Photo: Facebook / News.com.au
Sometimes, the long arm of the law isn’t just long, it’s also hidden from sight. In the bushes, as it happened recently in Petrie, Australia.
Motorists passing through Petrie noticed an officer hiding and crouching in the bushes on a median strip, pointing a radar gun at the traffic to pick up speedsters. They soon started posting photos and comments about the strange sighting on Facebook, and the whole thing snowballed into a minor scandal, News.com.au reports.
It all started when a woman from Brisbane first posted about it on a dedicated group on social media. Other motorists replied to say they’d seen the exact same cop weeks earlier, and he was hiding in the same location. Soon, it became clear: this was the favorite location for the officer to catch speedsters.
The question arose whether what he was doing was even legal: are policemen allowed to hide in bushes with radar guns? Others stated that it was, but stressed that this didn’t do anything in terms of enforcing trust with the community this cop was supposed to be serving. As expected, there were also those who praised the cop for thinking outside the box to get his job done and keep speedsters off the road.
The debate is probably still going as we speak, but the officer is no longer hiding in the bushes: Queensland Police tells the media outlet he’s been ordered to quit the tactic. Meanwhile, an investigation will determine if he acted within guidelines.
“The Queensland Police Service (QPS) is aware of photos depicting an officer conducting speed enforcement circulating on social media,” Road Police Command Assistant Commissioner Mike Keating tells the publication. “The officer in the photo has been identified and was requested to cease operating from that position immediately.”
“The deployment will be reviewed against the guidelines for the operation of this particular type of device,” Keating adds.
It all started when a woman from Brisbane first posted about it on a dedicated group on social media. Other motorists replied to say they’d seen the exact same cop weeks earlier, and he was hiding in the same location. Soon, it became clear: this was the favorite location for the officer to catch speedsters.
The question arose whether what he was doing was even legal: are policemen allowed to hide in bushes with radar guns? Others stated that it was, but stressed that this didn’t do anything in terms of enforcing trust with the community this cop was supposed to be serving. As expected, there were also those who praised the cop for thinking outside the box to get his job done and keep speedsters off the road.
The debate is probably still going as we speak, but the officer is no longer hiding in the bushes: Queensland Police tells the media outlet he’s been ordered to quit the tactic. Meanwhile, an investigation will determine if he acted within guidelines.
“The Queensland Police Service (QPS) is aware of photos depicting an officer conducting speed enforcement circulating on social media,” Road Police Command Assistant Commissioner Mike Keating tells the publication. “The officer in the photo has been identified and was requested to cease operating from that position immediately.”
“The deployment will be reviewed against the guidelines for the operation of this particular type of device,” Keating adds.
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