Rotorua police have launched an inquiry into who was driving an unmarked police car which ploughed into a power pole.
Police are saying little publicly about the early morning crash at the Clayton Rd end of Pukehangi Rd which severely damaged the unmarked "mufti" police stationwagon.
The silver stationwagon hit the pole about 5.35am on Saturday.
It is unclear who was driving the car, including whether it was a police officer.
Rotorua police area controller Inspector Bruce Horne said the police inquiry would look into who was driving and whether or not charges would be laid.
He did not want to comment on whether any officer had been stood down.
"We don't want to make any further statements because it is early days yet and it would be irresponsible for me to do so."
Police had attended the crash "some time afterwards".
Mr Horne was unable to say whether or not police staff had found anyone at the crash scene.
He was not aware of any injuries to the driver of the car.
"All we have got to say at this stage is there was a crash involving a police vehicle and there will be an inquiry into the circumstances.
"It is simple - we have a police car that has been crashed.
"We are inquiring into the circumstances."
Unison spokesman Bill Hewitt said the power was cut at 5.37am on Saturday.
There was no damage to the power pole and power was restored about two minutes later.
"But there were 1827 people who would have had to redo their alarm clocks that morning."
Police Commissioner's Office spokesman John Neilson said it was standard procedure for there to be a stand-down period for any officer under investigation.
The Police Complaints Authority only usually became involved if the inquiry involved non-police staff.
Last year, police implemented training for staff to improve driving standards after statistics revealed that half of all police car crashes were caused by police drivers.
The programme was designed to address safety concerns and better manage police driving.
It followed the national release of figures released under the Official Information Act which showed 735 police vehicles were involved in crashes in the year ended October 2004.
Police were found to have caused more than 380 of those accidents.
The police crash repair bill, including any third-party repairs, topped $1.14 million.
Police pointed out at the time that many of the crashes were "minor dings", and that there were "not that many considering the number of police and the type and amount of driving they do".
Police vehicle crash mystery
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