Siege led to wrong call : Court

A Hastings lawyer has claimed his personal involvement with the Jan Molenaar siege in Napier ``coloured'' a dangerous driving manoeuvre on his way home from work.
Karl Colin Sandbrook, an associate with Napier law firm Langley Twigg, yesterday defended a charge of failing to remain in his lane on Grove Rd on May 8 _ day two of the three-day Napier siege which was sparked by the shooting and killing of Constable Len Snee.
About 8.40pm Sandbrook approached a 90-degree right-hand turn outside Karamu High School before cutting the corner and driving on the wrong side of the road.
A police patrol car in the school's carpark saw the manoeuvre, pulled the vehicle over and issued an infringement.
Earlier in the day, the commercial lawyer had been snowed under with ``estate matters'' of Len Snee and his then seriously wounded colleague Constable Bruce Miller, both of whom were clients of the firm.
Sandbrook, 35, who represented himself during yesterday's hearing in Hastings District Court, argued he had seen the patrol car start to move before he cut the corner.
He presumed it had been called to an emergency so drove on the opposite side of the road to provide room for the patrol car to exit.
He told the court his personal involvement in the tragedy was ``directly related'' to the manoeuvre.
``I had a heightened sense of how eerie events were on Napier Hill,'' Sandbrook said. ``We (the firm) were very close to the cordon. Police and families of the victims were coming in and out of work all day. It's why I was really looking out for that police vehicle ... knowing what I knew that day, anyone in that situation would have crossed the [centre] line.''
The 35-year-old also argued there were clear cases in law where crossing the centre line was permitted.
Police prosecutor Nigel Wolland asked Sandbrook if he was aware the siege was over 25km from Grove Rd.
The constable who pulled Sandbrook over also denied his patrol car had been moving prior to the manoeuvre.
Justices of the Peace Alison Thomson and Andrew Renton-Green dismissed Sandbrook's defence and ordered he pay the infringement fee of $150 and court costs of $30.