Police officer from Drachevo drove without ever passing a driving test: Who checks the people who check everyone else?

A police officer from the Drachevo police station got behind the wheel without ever having passed a driving test. The vehicle he was driving, meanwhile, had an expired registration. It happened on 1 October, outside his working hours - but that changes little: the man carrying an interior ministry badge was committing exactly the offences his colleagues stop ordinary drivers for every day.

The ministry's Department for Internal Control, Criminal Investigations and Professional Standards filed a criminal complaint with the Basic Public Prosecutor's Office against the officer, identified by the initials Sh.A. He is suspected of "reckless driving of a motor vehicle" under Article 297-a of the Criminal Code. According to the ministry, as a road user he did not comply with safety regulations. In parallel, a motion was filed for proceedings over breach of workplace order and discipline.

It's good that internal control reacted and that the ministry didn't hush the case up. But under the complaint sits a simpler and more uncomfortable question: how does a man without a driving licence work at a police station, with that only coming to light when he gets behind the wheel? And how many gaps like this go unnoticed, if this one is just the one that got caught?

The complaint is now with the prosecutors. Whether it ends with a verdict or stays in a drawer remains to be seen. The ministry's statement, in any case, doesn't say whether the officer is still working while the proceedings are under way.