Top cop avoids charges over 150kmh speeding

A top cop who sped to a police briefing at more than 150kmh will not face criminal charges.

However, the actions of Marlborough area commander Inspector Simon Feltham remain subject to an investigation.

Stuff previously reported that Feltham, the Tasman district armed offenders squad (AOS) commander, was travelling on State Highway 6 from Blenheim to Nelson when he was clocked speeding by a highway patrol constable near Rai Valley in January.

It is understood Feltham and his passenger, another senior police officer, were en route to a briefing in relation to a preplanned search warrant.

The vehicle’s lights had been activated. It is understood that some AOS members attending the briefing had to leave Blenheim, which is about a 50-minute drive from Rai Valley.

It is believed a camera operator contracted to Greenstone TV was in the highway patrol constable’s car filming for Highway Cops. It is unclear whether the camera was on at the time.

An investigation spanning several months looked at whether Feltham’s excessive speed was justified.

Yesterday, after a week-long delay in responding to an inquiry from Stuff, a statement from police confirmed he would not face charges.

‘‘Police are satisfied that in these circumstances the conduct of the officer does not reach the threshold required for criminal prosecution.’’

However, the matter was still subject to an investigation, the statement said.

The exact nature of that inquiry was not disclosed.

In a subsequent email, a police spokesperson would not say if the matter was subject to an employment investigation.

‘‘New Zealand Police has the same privacy obligations when it comes to employment matters as any other employer, and we are not able to comment further at this time,’’ the spokesperson said.

An Independent Police Conduct Authority spokesman said the police watchdog had ‘‘oversight of the police investigation into this matter’’.

Feltham could not immediately be reached for comment.

According to the police’s urgent duty driving policy, officers can drive in excess of the speed limit if they are responding to a critical incident, gathering evidence of an alleged offence, apprehending an offender, or providing security to an official motorcade.

A critical incident includes situations where force or the threat of force is involved, a person faces the serious risk of harm or police are responding to people in the act of committing a crime.

Drivers must take into account an array of other factors, including the road type, before