A police officer engaged in "precisely the kind of hooning conduct" he swore to protect the community from when he hit 160kmh in a marked car after leaving Summernats, a magistrate has said.
The former officer, Ben Robert Wager, was sentenced in the ACT Magistrates Court on Friday, July 10, after pleading guilty to one count of aggravated furious, reckless and dangerous driving.
The court heard Wager was driving with three other police officers, including his now-wife, to Tuggeranong about 1am on January 5, 2025, after finishing a 12-hour shift at Summernats.
Wager was weaving between lanes and overtaking vehicles, before clocking 160kmh in an 80kmh zone at the Melbourne Avenue underpass. He slowed down on Adelaide Avenue before crashing into a concrete barrier.
Chief Magistrate Louise Taylor said Wager's actions had placed himself, his passengers and other road users at "significant risk".
"[The fact] the defendant lost control of the vehicle while driving at speed ... demonstrated the inherent risk which exists when speed is involved."
The magistrate said his actions were "not a momentary lapse" in judgement, and rejected the defence submission that the offending was caused by fatigue after a 12-hour shift.
"It was brazen, deliberate, sustained conduct," she said.
"The reality is that the only explanation for the offending which makes sense is that he drove the way he did because he felt entitled to do so.
"He was engaging in precisely the kind of hooning conduct that he and his colleagues were called upon to protect the community from, by their presence at the Summernats festival."
She noted Wager's position as a sworn police officer for seven years was an especially aggravating factor.
"The offence was aggravated not only by that fact alone, it was also aggravated by the defendant's use of a marked police vehicle to commit the offence."
The magistrate said Wager's use of a marked car "cloaked his conduct in an air of legitimacy," as a member of the public would assume he was on "official police business".
Ms Taylor also said the community was entitled to expect Wager would fulfil his obligation to protect them, "not completely betray [them] when he thought he could get away with it".
"Had he not crashed the vehicle, he may well have gotten away with it," she said.
She noted the ACT taxpayer-funded police vehicle suffered significant damage during the crash, though the court did not hear of any injuries.
The court heard Wager had served with the police for seven years and had received a bravery award in 2021 for saving a drowning child while deployed to Christmas Island.
He lost his job following the crime and now works at the US embassy.
In sentencing, Ms Taylor accepted that the former officer had no prior criminal history and had shown genuine remorse, including through a letter to the court.
She said Wager had "excellent prospects" of rehabilitation, posed no ongoing risk to the community and found the offending to be out of character. She also accepted Wager's pregnant wife would suffer "significant hardship" if he went into custody.
While Ms Taylor said jail was the only appropriate sentencing option, she found that this could be served in the community through a suspended sentence.
The former officer was convicted and sentenced to six months' jail, suspended immediately upon entering into a 12-month good behaviour order. He was also disqualified from driving for 12 months.
After sentencing, the magistrate said a "conflict" arising from statements by the other police officers in the vehicle was "troubling".
She ordered a transcript of her sentencing remarks be provided to the chief police officer to ensure "ethical and behavioral standards are maintained in ACT Policing".
