Officer ran red lights over 150km/h

Judge convicts cop but allows him to keep driving

At those speeds, travelling through those red lights, it would have taken you up to 160m to stop had you been required to.

Arespected police officer has been convicted for running two red lights in central Auckland in excess of 150km/h while pursuing a fleeing car. A judge has described the man’s driving as dangerous, noting it would have taken 160m for the patrol vehicle to stop.

The law requires anyone using lights and sirens through an intersection not to exceed 20km/h.

Last year, an Auckland District Court judge found Andrew Dimitri Gan guilty of driving in a manner that was dangerous to the public and convicted him. He was not disqualified from driving.

In October 2018, Gan was on patrol with his partner near Auckland Domain which had been targeted in a number of recent burglaries.

A suspicious car caught the eye of the officers.

Gan noted its registration and sought a National Intelligence Application check, learning it was wanted for failing to stop at an incident three weeks prior.

The vehicle stopped, but when Gan’s partner got out of the patrol car it took off at speed.

A 16.5km pursuit ensued, spanning nine minutes, until the Eagle helicopter was overhead.

Judge Ema Aitken said Gan had been travelling over 100km/h before reaching Symonds St.

Once on the city road he travelled at an average 154-156km/h while going through two red lights.

The first red light had been showing for over 10 seconds.

The second had shown only for about 1.5 seconds but another car was waiting to turn left facing a green light for about 0.6 of a second.

“At those speeds, travelling through those red lights, it would have taken you up to 160m to stop had you been required to,” Judge Aitken said.

“In those situations, I was well satisfied that your driving was dangerous.”

The fleeing car was eventually abandoned, the four occupants fled but were arrested, with the driver ultimately charged with offending.

Judge Aitken said she had the benefit of hearing evidence from Gan’s four superior officers, all of whom regarded him as a “very competent driver” in pursuit and “well qualified” in his field.

“There is no evidence at all that any of your driving on that night could be described as flamboyant or with a sense of entitlement on the basis of your status as a police officer in pursuit,” she said.

The judge was satisfied there did not need to be any driving disqualification on the grounds of special reasons.

It was to his credit that Gan did not seek a discharge without conviction. A conviction could have ongoing consequences on his career, she said.

“For all of those reasons, Mr Gan, unusually but appropriately in my view, you are simply convicted and discharged.”

Auckland City District Commander Superintendent Karyn Malthus said a review found Gan breached police policy during the incident.

Judge Ema Aitken