Australians have been left furious by a police officer’s sneaky act caught on camera being handed out double demerits over the Anzac Day weekend.
Footage captured a Highway Patrol vehicle parked behind a barrier near the Alfords Point Bridge, in the Sutherland Shire, south of Sydney.
News Corp journalist David McCowen shared the video on Instagram attacking the unmarked BMW for blocking a cycle path and jogging track.
“This is nonsense,” he said.
“This is some kind of highway patrol…trying to book people hiding behind a concrete wall in an unmarked car on a double demerit weekend on a long descent over a bridge.
‘That’s just bullshit. That’s not serving the community, it’s just increasing revenue and that’s not what I’m talking about. You can’t see it.
Social media users are divided over whether it was “sneaky” behavior by the officer.
‘I wonder what the punishment would be for a private citizen who parked there. What a joke,” one wrote.
“There’s reasonable enforcement of the law and then there’s this,” another added.
“That’s just un-Australian and downright misleading,” said a third person.
Video footage showed a Highway Patrol vehicle parked behind a barrier along the Alfords Point Bridge in the Sutherland Shire, south of Sydney.
Meanwhile, others defended the controversial law and urged drivers not to speed.
‘Easy. Don’t speed up,” one wrote.
“Actually, if they’re speeding, then they’re speeding, no excuses,” another added.
“Don’t break the law and this guy won’t be a problem,” a third person said.
A NSW Police spokesperson said officers were “aware of the social media video”.
A total of 116 lives have been lost on the state’s roads this year and more than 10,000 people have been hospitalized with serious injuries, according to Transport for NSW.
Under regulation 307 of the New South Wales Road Rules, police officers are exempt from parking and stopping restrictions.