It’s a police chase in the truest sense of the term.

One day in February of this year, a patrol car belonging to the Nagasaki Prefectural Police was working a national highway with a speed limit of 50 kilometers per hour (31 miles per hour) when a car tore past them at speeds well beyond the limit. The patrol car quickly went in pursuit but the other vehicle showed no signs of slowing down with a speed clocked at 102 kilometers per hour (63 miles per hour).

Eventually, the car managed to shake off the police but not before the officers could take note of its license plate number. Much to their surprise, the license number led them to another member of the same police force. Not only that, but surveillance camera video showed that the off-duty officer in her 20s had committed 13 violations of the Road Traffic Act, such as running a red light, on that same day.

Following the full investigation, the officer in question was handed down a six-month, 10-percent pay cut by the Nagasaki Prefectural Police on 1 May and her case was submitted to the prosecutor’s office to determine if the criminal charges she’s facing will be pursued.

The police officer told police that she was going home from visiting her parents during the holiday, and that: “I didn’t notice the patrol car chasing me. I just wanted to get home and get some sleep.” She also admitted to the charges and resigned on 1 May.

▼ Police cars are notoriously easy to miss, aren’t they?

Perhaps I’m reading too much into this, but the “I didn’t notice the patrol car chasing me,” felt like a subtle dig at her former colleagues. After all, if she really didn’t notice the sirens, lights, and person shouting over a megaphone behind her for an extended period of time, she must have been severely impaired in some way, but the fact that no accidents occurred from it would suggest either an incredible stroke of luck or that she’s fibbing.

Whatever the case may be, readers of the news online were mostly impressed by her driving skills and unimpressed by the police department’s response to them.

“She’s probably better off as a race car driver.”
“They’ve got to be joking with that 10 percent pay cut.”
“I don’t buy it. She clearly had something to hide that day.”
“Don’t the police have 3.5L V6 Crowns? What was she driving?”
“I think in cases like this she should be investigated by police from a different prefecture.”
“She got away from a police car while doing twice the limit…”
“I would never want to be pulled over by her.”
“What a waste of a good driver.”
“And she didn’t get into an accident doing all that. She must have trained on Mario Kart.”

It wasn’t mentioned in the reports, but that ought to be more than enough simultaneous violations to warrant her license being suspended, in which case she’ll have lots of time for Mario Kart from now on. So, let’s all show our appreciation to the police in Japan who work tirelessly to keep us safe from other police in Japan.

Source: NBC, Hachima Kiko
Featured image: Pakutaso
Insert image: Pakutaso
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