Disqualified Broome driver jailed for dragging police officer down Anne Street after he was chased by cops for speeding

A disqualified driver from Broome has been jailed for speeding 140km/h down a suburban street to get away from police when he was asked to stop and dragging the officer that pulled him over down the road with his vehicle. Ka Fai George Chan, 29, was sentenced to 15 months in prison for a string of charges relating to the incident last year, including reckless driving and endangering life. Chan, who was disqualified from driving for life in 2016, was travelling down Weld Street in Broome at 2.12am on December 12 when police tried to stop him. The man was chased as he sped off at more than 140km/h before crashing into a crosswalk bollard on Anne Street in the residential area. One of the two police officers following him tried to get Chan out of the car to arrest him but Chan drove off, with the officer clinging on to the car. The officer was dragged along Anne Street for 25m before letting go and rolling down the road, resulting in bruising to his legs and abrasions to his arms and back. The chase would continue until Chan swerved on to Walcott Street, where he eventually came to a stop. Chan’s lawyer Ben White told the court he had sped off because he simply panicked when he saw the police signalling for him to stop and dragging the police officer along Anne Street was not pre-meditated but an instance of poor judgment in the moment. Chan, who appeared in Broome Magistrate’s Court via video link from Casuarina Prison, also pleaded guilty to a number of drug charges, after 1.67g of methamphetamine was found in three clip seal bags, and 0.39g of meth in his shorts. He also had another glass smoking implement and 0.1g of methamphetamine that was seized in a previous incident in November. Mr White also noted a term of imprisonment given the current circumstances of limited visits and access to rehabilitative programs would be a personal deterrent for Chan in terms of reoffending. While imposing the sentence, Magistrate Matthew Walton said Chan’s “appalling” record, which included previous drug-related offending and reckless driving convictions, showed a “consistent interaction with methamphetamine dealing and use.” “These are egregious offences,” he said. Chan was sentenced to 15 months prison, fined $3000 and was handed further driving disqualifications.