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Qld: Officer fined for speeding with police commissioner in car


26 Jan 2009 4:09 PM

BRISBANE, Jan 26 AAP - A police officer has been booked for speeding while driving Queensland's police commissioner to an Australia Day event.

Commissioner Bob Atkinson was sitting in the front seat of the unmarked police car when the driver, a sergeant based at Queensland's police headquarters, was pulled over on Brisbane's inner city bypass on Monday morning.

The sergeant was travelling 12km above the 60km speed limit and has been booked for speeding.

A police statement said Mr Atkinson was reading briefings in preparation for his public engagements and was unaware of the speed the car was travelling.

The statement said Mr Atkinson was apologetic and the sergeant was also highly embarrassed.

"As a service, we are constantly asking drivers to obey the road rules and pay attention to the road conditions," Mr Atkinson said.

"This incident does not diminish the importance of that message.

"As police officers who enforce the road rules, we are put under much greater scrutiny than the general public about such matters, which is why we have informed the media about this matter."