Motorist angry police did not move motorway hazard

An Auckland man is angry that police were more interested in a motorcade escorting Singapore's Prime Minister than removing a hazard from a motorway.

Westmere resident Warren Lawrence said he was driving along the Southwestern Motorway on Tuesday when he noticed other cars swerving to avoid a highchair in the middle of the lanes.

Mr Lawrence started to dial *555 to report the hazard but hung up when he noticed three police officers at the Hillsborough Rd intersection just ahead of him.

"I pulled over to inform the man in police uniform ... He wasn't at all interested and told me to move on as a motorcade was coming through.

"I pressed him that it was a significant safety issue and he turned away and ignored my plea to move [the highchair] ... "

The motorcade was escorting Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who had several appointments in Auckland that day.

Mr Lawrence has written to the Police Complaints Authority outlining his concerns about the way the officer handled the situation.

He said the officer was "a disgrace to the uniform he was wearing" because of his attitude and priorities.

"The police have zero tolerance for speed excess and potential hazards yet a real and immediate hazard is treated with disdain.

"Our taxes deserve to be spent and used more wisely than employing unprofessional officers whose priority I would have expected to have been public safety."

The motorcade commander, Inspector John Mitchell, said he could not comment on the complaint until it had been investigated.

However, generally speaking he said people frequently pulled over to inform officers about something that was going on.

Often the officers were on an assignment and unable to leave their post but each case was different.