Even though it cost him $62, a South Australian motorcyclist who went viral on Tik Tok has claimed a moral win over the ‘hypocrite’ police officer who issued him a defect notice.
When Theo Glibo was approached by a police officer at a northwest Adelaide gas station to receive a defect notice for his Honda Grom bike, he pointed out that the officer’s car should also receive a notice for a bald tyre, which the officer agreed to but did not do.
Mr Glibo, 24, filmed the interactions for Tik Tok and posted three videos, the first of which, titled “Sapol at it again,” quickly racked up 1.5 million views.
Mr Glibo is shown in the first video pressuring the officer to issue a defect notice for his own worn right front tyre.
Mr Glibo said, “I’m copping a defect and this cop has a bald tyre and he’s not even going to defect his own car.”
As the two argue, the officer replies, ‘I’m not going to put a sticker on it for something that will be dealt with tomorrow.’
‘Why not? That’s what you’re doing with mine, you’re a hypocrite,’ Mr Glibo says.
The argument continues in the second video, which opens with a close-up of the offending tyre.
Mr Glibo asks the officer to assess its condition as unroadworthy, which prompts a frank admission.
‘You’re absolutely right,’ the officer says.
‘So I will defect that when I get back to my office.’
This doesn’t go down well.
‘If this was anybody’s else’s car you’d defect it,’ Mr Glibo says.
‘Where’s the wear bar on that?’
The officer again says he will do it back in the office but Mr Glibo insists he do it on the spot.
In the third video posted by Mr Glibo, he and officer disagree over the defect notice, which was issued because the bike had a blue light under its headlight.
Mr Glibo argues that the blue light is a factory setting.
‘That’s how I bought it sir, he says.
The officer does not disagree but still issues the $62 notice.
South Australia Police have issued a statement in response to Mr Glibo’s videos, which appears to vindicate the assertion the police car was defect worthy.
‘South Australia Police are aware of the social media post relating to an interaction between a SAPOL employee and a member of the public where the police vehicle was identified to have a bald tyre,” it read.
“SAPOL have taken steps to address this matter.”