Australian Police Department to Review Case of Cop Clocking Speeders While Hiding in a Bush

There are plenty of bad apples in any profession on the planet, but we would hope that our local police force has fewer than the average.

Police officers have a difficult and dangerous job – this much is undeniable – but there are certainly a few Gomer Pyle-type characters out there who have a hard time understanding the nuances of their “protect and serve” ethos.

Such is the case in Australia this week after one such officer was spotted in his custom “speed trap”.

Residents of Petrie, Australia, recently spotted someone lurking in the bushes in the median of a road through town.

He wasn’t necessarily breaking the law, but was trying to enforce it.

The man turned out to be a police officer using the spot to operate a radar gun, and some locals started calling him out by posting photos of him to a community Facebook page, News.com.au reports.

Residents were rightly concerned.

“Is a copper actually allowed to crouch in the hedges in the middle of the road,” one asked, while another said the tactic was a “poor form for positive community engagement.”

While the tactic is perfectly legal, that hasn’t stopped the Queensland Police from opening an investigation into the sneaky officer’s actions.