NT Police in turmoil over suspended cop who criticised commissioners over Rolfe case

Politically correct police leadership hits back at criticisms of itself.  They breached their own guidelines by  hounding officer Rolfe.  They were prepared to throw a good officer to the wolves in order to placate Aborigines.  The officer would not even have been charged if the deceased had been white

The Northern Territory Police Force is in turmoil after a veteran ­officer was “brutally” suspended for publicly criticising how his commissioners had treated constable ­Zachary Rolfe over the fatal shooting of Kumanjayi Walker.

Sergeant Mark Casey, who has served in the NT Police for 25 years, said he was “devastated” and “terrified” after being suspended without pay on Saturday for alleged “serious breaches of discipline” related to his “personal behaviour and public views”.

The suspension notice, signed by Assistant Commissioner ­Michael White, asserts that Sergeant Casey committed three breaches: improper conduct, personal use of social media and breach of the force’s code of conduct.

The 45-year-old from the digital forensic unit was suspended just hours after an opinion piece he wrote was published by local online news outlet NT Independent.

The article detailed “concerns” he held about the actions and ­“integrity” of NT Police executive members including Commissioner Jamie Chalker.

“This concern relates to the ­authoritarian management as a whole and specifically in relation to the charging of Constable Zach Rolfe,” he wrote.

“It is time for someone to stand-up and allow the discourse to happen, rather than sitting in fear, waiting for someone else to take action.”

Sergeant Casey said he had ­initially written the article “purely as a vent”, to privately process his growing frustration about how the Rolfe matter was handled, before deciding to have it published.

Sky News Darwin Bureau Chief Matt Cunningham says the ICAC is considering an “independent inquiry” into the… arrest of Constable Zachary Rolfe, after he was found not guilty for the murder of Kumanjayi Walker in 2019. “I think Michael Richards, the new ICAC commissioner…he’s made it clear that More

“I’d been speaking to quite a lot of police and they were all saying that something needs to be done but they were all too scared and fearful of the repercussions,” he said.

Sergeant Casey said he had ­expected to face disciplinary ­action for publishing his opinion piece. “I expected the intimidation and the bullying in response, but I underestimated how brutal it was going to be,” he said.

“I did initially feel relief (after publication) but being suspended without pay has been devastating.”

Suspending him without pay has incensed colleagues, who say the NT Police disciplinary system is unfair because other members – including senior officers – have been suspended on full pay while being investigated over more serious matters including alleged murder, rape and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Sergeant Casey, who has spent most of his policing career investigating fatal crashes, has never worked with or met Constable Rolfe, who in March was acquitted of all charges related to Walker’s death.

“He was by all accounts a competent, enthusiastic police officer and a good person,” Sergeant Casey wrote. “He has risked his life to save not one but two strangers from raging flood waters and risked his life to apprehend a violent criminal. If a police officer does the wrong thing, typically their colleagues will not support them, but in this case, everyone is supporting Zach.”

An internal police broadcast, sent to police members on Saturday night stated that the alleged breaches related to Sergeant Casey’s “personal behaviour and public views that do not align with the oath taken” when he joined the force more than two decades ago.

Sergeant Casey has seven days to respond to the suspension ­notice and is “very worried” about losing his job. “It’s not something that I wanted to do but I felt it needed to be done,” he said.

“The culture is that everyone is too scared to speak up and do the right thing. I think that’s a culture that needs to change.”

The matter is now being investigated internally by the ­professional standards command and has been referred to the NT ICAC and NT Ombudsman.

The NT Police Association said it “will provide ongoing support”.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/nt-police-in-turmoil-over-suspended-cop-who-criticised-commissioners-over-rolfe-case/news-story/0df0919b892e40a00c783de08bdf30c0