Bus driver calls it quits

SONIA GERKEN/Southland Times

LAST STOP: Veteran schoolbus driver Jim McCorkindale, of Gore, who has decided to call it quits even though a charge of assaulting a young passenger was thrown out of court last week.

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Gore police boss Senior Sergeant Steve Gregory yesterday defended the decision to charge a schoolbus driver for assaulting a schoolboy and said police would do it again, given the same circumstances.

Seventy-year-old Jim McCorkindale, of Gore, had never appeared in court until charged with assaulting the 12-year-old last year when trying to stop him from pulling a girl's hair.

Last week the veteran bus driver walked out of the Gore District Court with his clean record intact after Judge Kevin Phillips dismissed the charge.

Mr Gregory said yesterday that, given the circumstances, he was comfortable with the decision to lay an assault charge. Physical contact had been made.

Police had decided to turn down diversion. However, the file had been sent to the officer in charge of prosecutions for review and he had agreed, Mr Gregory said.

Mr McCorkindale said yesterday he had admitted the assault when seeking diversion but later pleaded not guilty. "Right, I touched the kid but I did so for a reason. That's the way I looked at it and fortunately (Judge) Kevin Phillips looked at it the same way."

Mr McCorkindale said he had brushed the boy's arm then pretended to hit him, causing the boy to flinch and let the girl go.

He was thankful for the boy's father supporting him in court and had been overwhelmed by the calls of support from throughout the country – "it's bloody astounding".

However, he was a bit annoyed to be left with a legal bill. "I don't see why the innocent party should be penalised".

A schoolbus driver for more than 30 years, Mr McCorkindale had intended to continue driving but now planned to give up at the end of this term.

He had dealt with children who had "varying degrees of devilment" over the years but it was time to call it quits, he said.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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grant   #1   12:03 pm Mar 10 2010

Typical beaurocratic rubbish. If the man if innocent or the case thrown out of court then he shouldn't have to pay a cent. As a tax payer, his taxes should cover these costs, after all isn't that why we pay them.........maybe the justice system needs to be a bit more accountable for how they use tax payers money and not just go off on the touchey feely court cases all the time. The boy and girl were just kids being kids cause they'll each say it was the other who started it, a bloody good tune up and all would have been fine.

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