A North Vancouver RCMP officer lauded in the past for keeping roads safe will appear in court Tuesday after allegedly blowing through a speed trap at high speed as part of an off-duty prank.
Const. Michael Milo Arbulic, 38, faces a charge of excessive speed under the Motor Vehicle Act for driving more than 40 kilometres an hour over the posted speed limit on Highway 1 while off duty on Feb. 14 this year.
Few details were available from RCMP’s E Division headquarters, which investigated the incident. Sources have indicated Arbulic was clocked at high speed and police in neighbouring West Vancouver were called in to assist, before he eventually stopped and revealed his identity.
Arbulic reportedly meant the dragnet drive-through as a prank.
But at least one fellow police officer was not amused and complained about the incident, prompting an investigation and review by the RCMP’s professional standards unit.
In April, Arbulic was publicly recognized as a member of “Alexa’s Team,” a designation given to police officers for outstanding work in keeping streets safe. The team is named after Alexa Middelaer, a four-year-old girl killed by a speeding drunk driver.
RCMP have not released any information on whether Arbulic was subject to any disciplinary action or whether his vehicle was impounded as a result of the speeding.
Typically drivers clocked at 40 km/h more than the posted speed limit are subject to hefty fines under the Motor Vehicle Act and often have their cars impounded for seven days.
In April, police in West Vancouver called out a police helicopter to assist after a 24 year-old motorcyclist doing more than 140 km/h failed to stop for Squamish RCMP on the Highway 99. The driver was later handed more than $1,000 in fines and had his motorcycle impounded for three weeks.
In August 2012, four members of the local chapter of the Porsche Club of America were also pulled over after a West Vancouver police officer reported the luxury car drivers reaching speeds of between 125 and 131 km/h in an 80-zone. In addition to hefty fines, the drivers had their cars impounded for seven days.
Arbulic is to appear in North Vancouver provincial court Tuesday morning.
Court records list a 38 year-old Michael Milo Arbulic as receiving a previous ticket for excessive speeding in Burnaby in July 2004 and other speeding tickets in January 2000 and July 1998.
