The officers were patrolling the town when they saw a black Mazda perform an abrupt U-turn and stop in Union St on December 28, the Dunedin District Court heard yesterday.
The driver, wearing all red, was identified as Casey John Richmond (27), a learner driver.
When he came out of the store he immediately approached the two officers, who had parked 20m behind him.
‘‘Why the f... are you following me? What’s your problem?’’ he asked Constable Alexander Zetko.
As it became clear Richmond was driving outside the bounds of his licence, an infringement ticket appeared to be the likely outcome. But the defendant upped the ante.
‘‘If I see you around without your vest, you’re f..... You’re not bulletproof,’’ Richmond told Const Zetko.
The officer began to suspect there may be more to the man’s aggressive presentation.
Const Zetko described to the court how Richmond was shaking as he filmed their confrontation, he was sweating and his pupils appeared small.
‘‘They were tiny, not normal at all,’’ he said.
Constable Sam Morris told Richmond he was required to accompany them to undergo a compulsory impairment test.
While there was some dispute over whether Const Morris had strictly adhered to protocol prescribed by the Land Transport Act, Judge David Robinson said there was no evidence of impropriety on the part of police.
He commended Const Morris for spending 10 minutes calming the defendant to the point where he willingly travelled to the Milton police station.
There he failed the impairment test and later provided a blood sample, analysis of which showed traces of THC — the active constituent of cannabis.
Richmond pleaded not guilty to a charge of drug-impaired driving but Judge Robinson found the charge proven after hearing yesterday’s evidence.
He said he was satisfied the police officers had good cause to suspect the defendant had been using illicit substances and said their evidence was consistent and coherent.
‘‘I’ve got to say I’m concerned to see the use of cannabis and the fact you’re a solo father now. You need to be modelling absolutely best behaviour for your child,’’ said the judge.
‘‘I accept what you’re saying, your honour, but I’m not a druggy,’’ said Richmond.
He was ordered to pay $652 to cover analyst’s fees and banned from driving for six months.
