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May 18, 2025 12 mins

Following another dramatic police chase making the weekend headlines, the Afternoons team raise the question over whether it's okay to try and drive away from the authorities.

One caller, Mike, opened up about his fleeting experience trying to get away from the police - and then he weighed in on the ethics of this idea.

Later, Police Minister Mark Mitchell revealed he was listening - and revealed why you should comply and not try to flee from the cops.

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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from News talks'd be follow
this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
It's another pretty dramatic police purshoot on Saturday night, just
the latest. There are often very dramatic police purshoots. So
we want to hear from you if you have managed
to evade police after being fleshed or given that we
siren for half a second and you decided to try
and see if you get away. Love to hear from you,
and no one hundred lady, Tim, I just you.

Speaker 3 (00:37):
Can't get away.

Speaker 1 (00:38):
Can you?

Speaker 3 (00:39):
Welcome to the show, Mike, You've you've gapped it on
the cops before.

Speaker 4 (00:44):
Yes, yes, and good afternoon to you guys. Yeah. I
have done that very recently. So the last let's say
three months, had a bit of a pursuit. But I
was selective in what car I was driving, so I
knew I had the advantage.

Speaker 3 (01:02):
So how did that, How did this? How did this
whole thing start off? What were you doing wrong that
the attention?

Speaker 4 (01:11):
Yep, so North Auckland. I was heading south down one
of the main highways, well exceeding the speed limit. The
officer was coming in the opposite direction. Must have picked
me up on his radar, flashed his lights and looked
straight under my eyes thinking that I was going to
pull over while he had to do the U turn

(01:32):
and just kept it.

Speaker 3 (01:34):
Wow.

Speaker 4 (01:34):
But I had the advantage. Yeah, I was running Australian,
the muscle car, so late model muscle car, so it
had the advantage over the Skoda.

Speaker 3 (01:42):
Wow at that point, at that point, sorry Mike, at
that point when you decided to gap it, did you think, well,
this is this is really escalating things. If I do
get pulled over, now I'm in a lot of.

Speaker 4 (01:53):
Trouble either way, They're taking my car and I'm getting
locked up. So the new rules have change. The fines
are excessive. You're pretty much going straight to jail, and
you're losing a car for six months, let's say, and
you're paying stworage fees on it. So the actually the
rules that they changed recently have actually made it more
of an advantage to take their risk rather than actually

(02:15):
slow down and stop and get a ticket.

Speaker 2 (02:16):
So you were going more than fifty k over the
speed limit? Might I take it if that was what
the punishment you got called?

Speaker 1 (02:22):
Yeah?

Speaker 4 (02:22):
Correct? Correct?

Speaker 5 (02:24):
Do you think?

Speaker 3 (02:25):
How do you feel about speeding. Do you think that's
okay for you to speed?

Speaker 4 (02:29):
Well, no, no, no, no, no, no, that was actually a one off.
But put itviously age wise on fifty nine. I've been
driving cars and driving sometimes the cars hard since my
early teens and never lost my license in my whole
driving history, never had a major accident and my whole
driving history. So but you've got to pick your situation.

(02:52):
You can't be under the influence of anything, and you've
got to have a clear path of what you can
and can't do. So it's not one of those things
that you're doing intoxicated or on the influence of any
sort of drug. So then your wigh up your decisions.
Second decision, Yes, do you stop or do you keep going?

Speaker 3 (03:11):
So when you say that the police officers saw you,
like made eye contact with you, wouldn't you think at
that point that he's also made eye contact with your
number plate?

Speaker 4 (03:23):
Ah, that's where you've got to realize that static camera
actually can pick up your plate. A moving vehicle can't
actually pick up your plate recognition.

Speaker 3 (03:32):
Oh right, man, it sounds like you're across this issue.
So do you think what.

Speaker 5 (03:37):
Do you think you're doing?

Speaker 4 (03:37):
I did study it after after that encounter, I did
actually study whether that'd come to find me.

Speaker 3 (03:45):
Yeah, and so do you think what do you think
about the whole thing morally? Do you think about that
at all? Do you think you know you were getting
away and as a result you're adding a certain amount
of risk to other people on the road by blasting
out of there at even faster than you were traveling.

Speaker 4 (04:03):
No, No, that's what I'm saying that Actually you don't
do it under the influence. You're actually evaluating the whole
situation and the area you're driving in. Put it this way,
it wouldn't be happening in a school zone and the built.

Speaker 3 (04:13):
Up area, right, whether you whether you're under the influence
or not, Mike, If you're traveling at huge speeds and
if you say you've got an Australian muscle car, that's
a that's quite a large amount of mass setting down
the road and you know things can go wrong, things
that aren't even your fault. Someone can cross the lane
or someone is doing something weird that is adding you

(04:35):
would admit quite a lot of risk to the situation.

Speaker 4 (04:41):
I would say, in some aspects of us, depending on
the driver's ability. And once again, it comes down to
their ability, not just the performance of the vehicle. So
we can talk about the performance of the vehicle, you know,
I say muscle car, but also the brakes are actually
equipped with the upgraded as well, so everything's stopping under

(05:01):
him and it's got the horse and the stops. But
you're not going to go and pick you know, somebody's
on a learner license that's jumped into a V eight
Audie that mum and Dad brought for him and he's
going to then take on the law.

Speaker 3 (05:17):
What kind of carrier you're driving?

Speaker 4 (05:20):
I won't mentioned because it's a limited limited. Yeah, I'm sorry,
I'm not going to mention that. Just say it's Australia
muscle cars. So it's between the holding and the forwarded.

Speaker 2 (05:28):
Range, right right, Okay, I mean why wouldn't you, Mike,
if you want to go to those sort of speeds,
why wouldn't you take it on Pooka Koi or one
of the race tracks where it is you, you know,
the only person you're putting at rest there is yourself.

Speaker 4 (05:42):
No, no, this this is just a one off. It's
not like you do it on a regular basis. This
was just the hair situation that it was clear over
ahead and everything was fine and it was a nice
day in the circumstances. You know, we're all positive in
my favor, apart from the officer coming in the other direction.

Speaker 3 (06:00):
Is it a falcon?

Speaker 4 (06:01):
And I was just I've got both in the camp.
I've got both. I've hold an end falcon.

Speaker 5 (06:07):
So an arrow?

Speaker 2 (06:09):
No, no, Well, I've got to say, I mean, one,
you know that the speeding element, but two, trying to
get away from the cops. Risky move, really risky move.

Speaker 4 (06:22):
No, no, no, But you've got to understand that you're evaluating.
If you're of sound mind and you're evaluating your circumstances
that you're presented in front of you, and you're preempting everything,
you're actually okay. But like I say, too many people
are doing it under influence or something and they're on

(06:43):
a high and they're going for this adrenaline buzz. You've
got to be in control of the situation, whether you're
going ten k's over the speed limit of fifty or
sixty or seventy or whatever you're doing. Yeah, you know,
you've got to be in control of the situation and
your destiny and the destiny of others. The problem is
a lot of them, you're find and they're doing it

(07:03):
under influence of could be the fear pressure, could be
the YouTubers, could be anything.

Speaker 3 (07:09):
Yeah, well, I guess Mike, some people would say that
if you're running from the cops, they would question with
a ear of sound mine. But boy an interesting insight. Yeah,
this textas is you d head's teaching people how to
run from the cops. Very irresponsible.

Speaker 2 (07:25):
No, that's not me here, we'd call that a listen.

Speaker 3 (07:28):
I mean that's we're discussing the issue, and I think
it's important to see mindsets in society. E one hundred
and eighty ten eighty. We're talking about running from the cops.
Why do people do it?

Speaker 1 (07:41):
Matti than Tyler Adams.

Speaker 2 (07:43):
There's been a heck of a lot of feedback from Mike.

Speaker 3 (07:46):
What an idiot, Mike, and doesn't sound young. Go to
Australia and see what happens to you. Yeah, I mean
Australian cops. They'll whop a gun out pretty quickly.

Speaker 5 (07:55):
They certainly will.

Speaker 3 (07:57):
It's interesting Mike because he is fifty nine. That caller
that was telling us about runn away from the cops.
I think it was three months ago. So you know,
normally you calm down by the time, but by the
time you're fifty nine.

Speaker 2 (08:07):
But a big beck towards Mike. But look, he was
brave enough to call in and so yeah, who was
listening to that conversation policemanister Mark Mitchell who joins us. Now, Mark,
very good afternoon to you.

Speaker 5 (08:20):
Yeah, afternoon, guys. I called in because I was listening
to this. I'm on the way to a Bravery's Awards
ceremonial government house for our police officers and I just
thought you guys handled it very very well. Thanks, sort
of nailed the message, which is which is be compliant.
So I just couldn't believe here he's gone on that
I'm a good driver and you know all the rest
of it in trying to justify it's ridiculous.

Speaker 3 (08:41):
Yeah, he'll love that. You're on the case now, Yeah.

Speaker 5 (08:48):
I like I like the way you guys said, can
you describe you the you'll be doing that? Almost got it?

Speaker 3 (08:54):
What is the current situation now because we don't have
a specific if I'm right that didn't happen, that there's
a specific offense fleeing from the police. You know that
on top of what you're doing. Is that correct?

Speaker 5 (09:06):
Look, I'd have to check that. I think they're are
failing to stop offense for someone that doesn't stop for police,
So yes, there is a specific offense for that. But
I mean, you know, the reality of it is our
police officers are out there to keep our roads safe.
We're in a pretty good space at the numbers of
their country. Our road toll is coming down, you know,
And the reality of is that when people leave home,

(09:27):
they want to get home safely at the end of
the day, and the police are out there to try
and make sure that happens. Yeah, on the.

Speaker 2 (09:32):
Police pursue policy, Mark, has that made a discernible difference
when that was changed, I believe in mid twenty twenty three.

Speaker 5 (09:41):
Yeah, so it's very operational, But yes, I think it
has made a big difference because you've reintroduced that to
terrent factor again, where offenders were out there sort of
acting with impunity, knowing the police weren't going to respond.
And I think now they know that they do, and
the police are still very cautious around that. They still
have full operational discretion in terms of whether they continue

(10:01):
to pursuit or pull out of it. But they've got
that ability to be able to make those decisions again,
and I think that was an important step in the
right direction.

Speaker 3 (10:08):
Of course, it's your job to think of the bigger picture,
but when it comes to us, do we need to
think about that bigger picture. Maybe the risk of chasing
now is high and that incident, but the risk of
police not chasing is also high. As thesage message gets
out that you can give it a go if you see, it's.

Speaker 5 (10:23):
A very fine balance. It's a very fine balance. And
our police officers are making those decisions hundreds of times
a day and they generally always get it right. But
there's a lot of stuff that you know that they
don't control. These are often and they have to weighup
public safety, but there has to be a de turrent effect.
If we lived in a society where there was no consequences,

(10:45):
then everyone just be running right. So, you know, it's
a really hard one. But look, we've got a world
class police force. They get a lot of training in
their decision making, they have that discretion. They are very careful.
But I think they were in a good place at
the moment around the pursuit policy.

Speaker 3 (11:00):
Now this might sound flippant. But if I was a
police officer, and maybe this is why I'm not a
police officer, but I would I would find the police
chase pretty fun. I mean getting to do I mean
that must be when you get to put the siren
on and chase someone, must be good for morale, when
you actually get to do it in a safe fashion.
I mean, well, to be honest, it must be pretty fun.

Speaker 5 (11:23):
Look, I think most police officers, in fact, i'd probably
say all police officers join because they want to protect
the communities that they're in. I think that now with
these high powered vehicles and our police officers are our
front line, are acutely aware of the risks around police pursuits.
They don't want to put public at at it added risk. However,

(11:44):
they've also very conso to the fact that there's got
to be a deterrent effect effect. And we ended up
in this place a few years ago where we just
had rempant crime with stolen vehicles failing to stop operating
with impunity. And if we want to have an ordered society,
then the police have to have the ability to be
able to deal with that.

Speaker 3 (12:01):
Yeah, and we're talking to Mark Mitchell new Zealand Minister
of Police. Are the Scots fast enough?

Speaker 5 (12:06):
Mark, I don't know when I heard the gidness go
as I'm head have to admit I did take a
step and take but the feed deck I have is
very very very good in their police officers like operating
them here.

Speaker 3 (12:20):
Yeah, brilliant. Thank you so much for calling in.

Speaker 2 (12:22):
Yeah, great to chat with you. And you said you're
off to the Bravery Bravery Awards.

Speaker 4 (12:26):
Is that right?

Speaker 5 (12:27):
Yes I am. I'm heading up to Gumming House now.
So I was just listening to the radio and I
just thought you guys handled that cool so well that
I just wanted to ring in and say thank you, No.

Speaker 2 (12:35):
Very good, Thank you very much for chatting with us. Mark,
that is Police Minister Mark Mitchell.

Speaker 1 (12:41):
For more from News Talks ed B listen live on
air or online and keep our shows with you wherever
you go with our podcast on iHeartRadio.
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