A South Auckland police officer who used a legal loophole to escape a drink-driving charge is the subject of an internal police investigation.
Counties Manukau police spokesperson Natalie Swart says Detective Constable Wayne Mead was stopped for drink-driving in central Auckland earlier this year.
However, he was not convicted because his lawyer successfully claimed in court that he was not given the legally required 10 minutes to decide if he wanted a blood test.
Ms Swart says Mr Mead is still working in Counties Manukau.
But she says an internal employment investigation is underway and is considering all aspects of what happened on the night Mr Mead was caught drink-driving.
Criminal lawyer Barry Hart says he knows of a number of other drink-drivers getting off for the same reason but Wayne Mead, and the officer dealing with him, should have known better.
The director of lobby group Alcohol Healthwatch, Rebecca Williams, says the case shows the rules for catching and processing drink-drivers should be reviewed.
