Giving a whole new slant on the words “sleeping policeman” (usually given to go-slow humps in the road), two agents assigned to Vila Franca de Xira territorial patrol have been fined €400 and €500 respectively for turning in on the job, and snoozing through an early morning exercise. Lisbon’s appeal court upheld the convictions this week after hearing the men were meant to be watching an industrial estate.
Instead, they decided not to, the court heard. They drove instead to a nearby wooded area, pushed back the seats of the patrol car, and settled down for a few hours’ kip.
The men were caught “in flagranti” by a service official, with the older one receiving the larger fine on the basis that he should have known better.
