Cop fined Dh2,215 for speeding while chasing criminals

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Cop fined Dh2,215 for speeding while chasing criminals

The cop was slapped with two speeding tickets in the incident.

By Web Report

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Published: Fri 1 Feb 2019, 12:00 PM

Last updated: Fri 1 Feb 2019, 2:59 PM

A police officer in Geneva, Switzerland, was fined £460 (Dh2,215 approx) for speeding as he had turned off the siren while chasing a suspect. In the high-speed chase, the officer as well as his female colleague in the passenger seat, were caught twice by a speed camera.    
According to reports in metro.co.uk, the officer spotted a suspect in his car who had allegedly robbed an ATM machine. The cops began to chase the suspect who was trying to make it to the French border. The officer followed the suspect in his patrol car through the city streets of Geneva in the French-speaking part of Switzerland.
In a desperate attempt to catch the suspect the officer drove at speeds up to 57mph and was caught twice by a speed camera - once driving 18.6mph too fast, the other time 26mph too fast. The cop was slapped with two speeding tickets in the incident that occurred in 2015 but the matter went to the Supreme Court of Switzerland. The officer's first speeding ticket had been cancelled by the prosecutor's office as the ride was classified as an emergency ride, but the second ticket was not cancelled, as the female officer by that time had turned off the siren of the car.
Now the judgement read that the speed at which police officers drive has to be proportionate, allowing cops to drive faster if for example someone's life is in danger compared to other interests such as chasing an ATM robber. The court stated that the officer should have adjusted his speed so as not to endanger any other road users or pedestrians in the high-speed chase as the suspects had not injured anyone and were of no threat.
However, after the high-speed chase it is yet known if the ATM robber was caught in the end.


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