Commissioner of Police Rusiate Tudravu is standing by a traffic officer who issued a parking ticket to Opposition MP Jone Usamate, saying the officer was simply doing his job.
Tudravu’s comments follow a social media post by Usamate describing the police action as an “overreach” after he received a parking ticket while carrying out parliamentary duties within the parliamentary precincts.
Usamate questioned the authority of police to issue the ticket within Parliament and called on the Minister responsible for policing and the Commissioner of Police to address the matter.
However, Commissioner Tudravu has defended the officer’s actions, saying the traffic infringement had been identified and the officer acted accordingly.
Tudravu said Usamate, like any other citizen, has the option of challenging the decision in a court of law if he believes the ticket was wrongly issued.
The Commissioner said he was standing by the officer’s action and maintained that the officer was carrying out his responsibility in enforcing traffic laws.
He also urged members of the public who have concerns about the conduct of police officers to use the proper reporting and complaints channels.
