Police officer found guilty of perjury

Constable Neil Robert Ford leaves Dunedin District Court last night after being found guilty of perjury. Photo / Otago Daily Times

A long-serving Otago police officer has been found guilty of perjury after lying about a 2005 car crash he was involved in.

Constable Neil Robert Ford, a 56-year-old from Alexandra, was driving a police car on a rural road near Alexandra in July 2005 when he did a U-turn and was struck by a car being driven by 17-year-old Shane Cribb.

Ford claimed he was on his correct side of the road indicating to turn right when Cribb's vehicle hit him. In February 2006 Cribb was found guilty of careless driving.

However, witnesses later came forward casting doubt on Ford's evidence and at a re-hearing in 2008 the conviction was quashed.

A jury in Dunedin District Court last night returned a guilty verdict following nine hours of deliberations.

Ford was remanded on bail for sentencing on September 28

A second Alexandra police officer, Constable Daime Cassidy, pleaded guilty last week to perverting the course of justice by hiding evidence that could have been vital to the crash investigation.

Cassidy, who was the first officer at the crash scene, will be sentenced in Alexandra District Court on November 17

- NZPA