NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione says two officers who helped a Sydney woman change her flat car tyre did the right thing.
The pair stopped to help the woman near Chatswood Police Station one night in February, but they split up when one of the officers went back to the station to get a car jack while the other stayed with the driver and the car, The Daily Telegraph reported.
The woman praised the pair's good deed in a letter to the police station, but instead of passing on her thanks a superior officer reprimanded the two officers for going against protocol by separating.
Mr Scipione said working in pairs is an important issue, but police are there to help the community.
"I would never want our police to ignore a member of the public who needed their assistance, that's the reason why we're here," he told Macquarie Radio on Tuesday.
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A NSW police spokeswoman told AAP there has been no official reprimand, but "the officers' actions in this instance compromised their ability to effectively respond to an emergency".
"Police are there to help the public but it is crucial that the assistance is balanced at all times with best interest of of the wider community," she said.
