You either play by the rules or you don't. There is no 'bending of'.
If we have to go down the "zero tolerance" route then I suggest that anyone who has ever broken a motor vehicle speed limit has placed lives in greater danger than this controller did on this day.
"Zero tolerance" is a dangerous weapon in a supposedly free society. I know it is fashionable these days, as it is seen as tough and uncompromising. In reality it should be reserved for situations where law and order has completly broken down (the situation for which the phrase was originally coined). In all other situations, response should be measured, considered, and fair. All qualitiies that require personal judgement and so these days seem in very short supply.