Case of beer lands Vienna police officer with huge fine
-
A case of beer instead of a fine for a poorly parked car has landed a Vienna police officer a 7,200-euro (9,600-dollar) fine for abuse of authority.
Seeing a police pennant inside a badly parked vehicle on a Vienna street in April, the 28-year-old officer decided to let the owner off a fine, thinking it belonged to a colleague, and left instead a note: "This will cost you a case of beer" a court heard.
And indeed, 24 bottles of lager were delivered to the police station later in the day. But the offender was no police officer, and the joker's superior reported the incident.
"It was stupid," the young officer told the court Wednesday, insisting the note was only meant as a joke, and he had every intention of returning the beer to his donor.