Cooper Couch says he only has 'vague recollections' of his actions on January 21. Photo / Christine O’Connor, Otago Daily Times
A man who used road cones to divert traffic away from a police drink-driving checkpoint says he was “just trying to help a few people out”.
Cooper Couch, 45, appeared in the Dunedin District Court, where he was fined $750 on a charge of obstructing police.
After the sentencing, he conceded to the Otago Daily Times he was “pretty wasted” on January 21 when the incident took place.
“It was a big night,” he said.
His counsel Meg Scally said her client, who had suffered a head injury in a vehicle crash in recent years, usually stuck to drinking beer, but on the night in question, he had been catching up with an old friend and they consumed whisky.
Police had set up a breath-testing checkpoint in Cumberland St by Queens Gardens that night.
At 10pm, the acting sergeant in charge of the operation realised vehicles were bypassing the testing station because road cones from a nearby building site had been used to create a diversion.
Officers replaced the cones to remedy the situation but shortly afterward, traffic had once again been rerouted.
It was third time lucky for the police, who caught Couch in the act of setting up the ad-hoc detour.
Acting Sergeant Tim Coudret said the incident was “a bit comical, but a massive risk to us and the public”.
Some cars ended up going around Queens Gardens in circles as they had no other option to go north, he said at the time.
The defendant told the Otago Daily Times he had a “vague recollection” of the evening’s shenanigans.
“I still remember the fat copper trying to chase me on foot,” he said.
While he was not initially apprehended, officers eventually collared him as he walked back to the Leviathan Hotel, where he was staying.
“It was not malicious ... it was just drunken idiocy really,” Scally said.
Couch said he had a natural aversion to the authorities after he had been deported from Australia several months ago following a string of convictions for driving without a licence.
He said it was tough being parted from his six-year-old daughter and he was hopeful an appeal he had lodged would result in his visa being reinstated.
Couch had been working as a builder for the past three months and Judge Jim Large said the man was highly valued by his employer.
The defendant was described, in a letter, as “a key team member”.
The judge agreed not to impose community work, thus keeping Couch out of the criminal justice system.
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