A police officer has received a criminal caution for misusing a level crossing and forcing a train to perform an emergency stop.
The incident happened near Antrim in August 2008, when the officer raised barriers despite warning lights and a siren indicating that a train was approaching.
The train passed through the crossing, after which the officer drove across the rail line and continued without lowering the barriers as required.
Train company Translink NIR contacted the PSNI in the wake of the incident When police went to investigate they found that the person involved had been an on-duty police officer on his way to a meeting with a member of the public. The incident was then referred to the Police Ombudsman for independent investigation.
The scene of the incident was examined by a Police Ombudsman investigator, who found that there were a number of signs illustrating how to use the crossing properly.
CCTV footage was retrieved from cameras at the scene, and NIR provided information to demonstrate that the crossing was operating properly at the time.
When interviewed the officer stated that he had been unsure what to do when he pulled up to the crossing. He said he waited a few minutes and read the signs, but did not see anything to advise what to do when the lights were red.
He said he got out of his vehicle and pressed a green button to raise the barriers, expecting that the light would turn green when the barriers were raised.
However, when the barriers were halfway raised he heard a horn and saw a train approaching. He stopped raising the barriers until the train had passed, then continued to raise them, got back into his vehicle and crossed the track. The light at the barrier was green at this time.
The officer indicated that he was shocked by what had happened, and had then gone straight to the home of the person he was visiting without stopping to lower the barriers as required.
CCTV footage retrieved from cameras at the crossing showed that parts of the officer's statement were incorrect. It took less than a minute from the moment he appeared at the crossing until the train passed - clearly indicating that he did not take several minutes to read the signs, as claimed.
The footage also showed that the officer was already back in his car when the train passed.
The officer stated that he had given an honest recollection and had not intended to mislead or detract from the seriousness of the incident.
He was found guilty of breaking the law by misusing the crossing and received an adult caution. He was also disciplined as his actions represented a breach of the PSNI's Code of Ethics.