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?’ says the author. You’re a hypocrite,’ Mr Glibo replies, referring to what you’re doing with mine.
In the second video, which begins with a close-up of the problematic tyre, the debate continues.
Mr Glibo requests that the police assess the vehicle’s state as unroadworthy, prompting an honest admission.
‘You’re totally correct,’ says the officer.
‘So when I come back to my office, I’ll defect that.’
This isn’t going over well.
‘You’d defect it if it was someone else’s car,’ Mr Glibo says.
‘Where’s the wear bar on that?’
Mr Glibo insists on doing it on the spot, and the officer says he will do it back in the office.
In Mr Glibo’s third video, he and the officer argue about the defect notice that was given since the bike’s headlight had a blue light under it.
The blue light, according to Mr Glibo, is a factory setting.
‘Sir, that’s how I got it,’ he says.
Despite the fact that the officer does not dispute, the officer still issues the $62 notice.
In response to Mr Glibo’s films, South Australia Police have produced a statement that appears to back up the claim that the police car was defective.
‘South Australia Police are aware of the social media post relating to an encounter between a SAPOL employee and a member of the public in which the police vehicle was identified as having a bald tyre,’ the statement said.
“SAPOL has taken action to resolve this issue.”