Cop perjury verdict ends family's fight for justice

Neil Ford. Photo / Otago Daily Times

A family shared hugs, smiles and tears of joy last night as their five-year fight for justice for friend Shane Cribb finally ended in victory.

"This proves if you are dogmatic enough and stick at it, you can achieve justice," Steve Potter said minutes after a Dunedin District Court jury found Senior Constable Neil Ford guilty of perjury and lying about Mr Cribb being at fault when their cars crashed in 2005.

Mr Potter, wife Denise and their daughters Koren and Sharelle were in the courtroom and exchanged smiles when the 11-person jury unanimously found the long-serving Alexandra policeman guilty of deliberately giving false evidence and deceiving the court during the hearing in February 2006 at which Mr Cribb was convicted of careless driving causing injury.

Ford, who showed little emotion while the verdict was given, was remanded on bail for sentencing on September 28.

Koren was Mr Cribb's girlfriend at the time of the crash and it was her car he was driving.

The two are no longer together, but the Potters never gave up trying to clear Mr Cribb's name, spending more than $17,000 to fund his defence.

After Mr Cribb was convicted, they wrote countless letters to the then-Police Complaints Authority and senior police officers asking for the case to be reopened.

Mr Cribb was granted a retrial in June 2008, but police offered no evidence and the charge against him was dismissed. He was awarded costs.

Last night, Mr Potter said he always thought Mr Cribb was the victim and had not been supported enough by the police or the justice system. "It is good to see justice finally being done ... To see a young man so low hurt us the most. He went through some very, very torrid times."

He rang Mr Cribb immediately after the verdict and said Mr Cribb was "over the moon".

Mr Potter, whose eyes welled with tears as he spoke to media representatives last night, said Mr Cribb could now get on with his life and become the "great man" the Potters always knew he could be.

However, Mr Potter said the verdict was a "hollow victory" in some ways. "You have to feel sorry for the officer [Ford], but he has caused so much hurt and sorrow by his actions."

It was a shame Ford had lived a lie for so long, Mr Potter said.

Contacted in Hamilton last night, where he has lived for the past five months, Mr Cribb, now 22, said he was overwhelmed by the verdict and would be celebrating with his family. "It's so good it's all over."

He was unable to be in Dunedin for the trial but expressed his thanks to the Potter family, the Alexandra community and all the witnesses who had come forward to help him since the first court hearing.

A second police officer, Dairne Olwen Cassidy, has also been convicted of misleading the court over the 2006 hearing.

Southern District operations manager Inspector Lane Todd said he was disappointed the two officers had been found guilty of perjury-related charges.

An internal code-of-conduct investigation would be held and both remained suspended on full pay until the investigation was completed.

- OTAGO DAILY TIMES