Policeman’s gun nightmare

A SOUTH Otago police officer of 23 years is considering a change of career after a man aimed a rifle at him and pulled the trigger following a highspeed car chase.

Luckily, 27yearold Ben James Dempsey’s .22 rifle malfunctioned and the seasoned officer made a hasty retreat from the scene.

The Dunedin District Court heard yesterday the encounter had had a lasting effect on the unnamed victim.

Judge Kevin Phillips said the man, who was married with teenage children, had never previously had a firearm pulled on him in the line of duty.

‘‘He describes it as a daunting time he will never forget when he found out that you had pulled the trigger,’’ the judge said.

Now the officer was contemplating leaving the police.

‘‘[He is] feeling sick with anxiety and his wife and children worry about him every time he is out at night doing his job,’’ Judge Phillips said.

Waimate man Dempsey had previously pleaded guilty to eight charges — including weapons, driving and sex offences — and was jailed for four and ahalf years yesterday.

Because he was convicted of a firststrike offence in 2011 — sexual connection with a 14yearold girl — he will serve this entire prison term without chance of parole.

On October 2 last year, Dempsey had just finished a spell on parole following a period of incarceration for exposing himself to young girls.

The defendant was riding his bike around Victoria Park when he saw four children, aged between 6 and 11.

After circling them, he rode to a toilet block and exposed his genitalia, beckoning at them as they walked past.

When Dempsey returned home, he became agitated after a

family member quizzed him about his movements, and used a knife to open a gun safe.

Removing the .22 Ruger rifle and grabbing 133 rounds of ammunition along with two petrol drums, he set off in his red BMW.

By 6pm he had stolen $237 of fuel from a Palmerston service station.

The theft was clearly planned, Judge Phillips said, since Dempsey had changed the number plates on his car.

Police saw him more than an hour later, driving through Milton, and began the pursuit.

When the defendant spotted them, he took the rifle from the back seat and loaded it.

Entering Balclutha, police activated lights and sirens while laying road spikes in Dempsey’s path, but he swerved into the wrong side of the road to avoid them.

At speeds reaching 140kmh, he zipped through the town before losing control and crashing into a ditch in Barnego Rd.

An officer pulled up 50m from the scene. Dempsey walked towards him, pointed the weapon and fired.

It failed to discharge and the officer reversed at speed.

Despite the failure, the judge said the intent was clear.

‘‘The gun was loaded, cocked and ready to fire,’’ he said.

Moments later, Dempsey reloaded and fired the rifle into the ground.

When he gave himself up soon after, he admitted he was considering ‘‘committing suicide by cop’’.

Dempsey said he knew he was in trouble for exposing himself to the children earlier and ‘‘just wanted to get away from everyone’’.

Counsel John Westgate said his client did not specifically aim the firearm at the police officer.

He was rather pointing in his ‘‘general direction’’, he said.

The court heard Dempsey did not consider his lewd acts to be sexually motivated and he believed he should be given a therapeutic sentence rather than imprisonment.

Judge Phillips disagreed. He said both the police officer and the four children would be severely and irreparably damaged by the ordeal they endured.

As well as the jail term, Dempsey was also banned from driving for a year.