Speeding policeman who injured teen loses licence

The Auckland police officer who seriously injured an Auckland teenager was breaking both the law and police policy and should not have been speeding, the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) has found.

Constable Aaron Holmes drove at a speed of 70km/h-80km/h in a 50km/h zone near a school as he was looking for a van that had sped off from a checkpoint on August 3, 2007.

He crashed into a lamp post at a pedestrian crossing, with the post striking 14-year-old Farhat Buksh on the head, causing serious head injuries.

"Constable Holmes drove in a manner that was contrary to the law," said IPCA chairwoman Justice Lowell Goddard.

"As he was not engaged in a pursuit or in urgent duty driving, there was no justification for him exceeding the speed limit."

In driving in the manner that he did, Holmes put the public at unjustified risk, and was solely responsible for the crash and the resulting serious injury to Farhat Buksh, she said.

Holmes was charged with aggravated careless use of a motor vehicle causing injury. He was convicted in Auckland District Court and disqualified from driving for a year and ordered to pay his victim $3000.

In February, the sentence and conviction were upheld on appeal to the High Court.

- NZPA