Australian Police News

2012-03-04T10:01:00.001+10:00

How Victorian police spent $3.5 million on 250 taxpayer-funded credit cards

VICTORIA police have used taxpayer-funded credit cards to buy gifts, fast food, doughnuts, artwork and spa resort accommodation.

Documents obtained under Freedom of Information laws by the Sunday Herald Sun show more than $3.5 million was spent on 250 publicly funded corporate credit cards in the past three financial years.

Among more than 13,000 transactions are tens of thousands of dollars spent on flowers, alcohol and fast food.

According to police rules, the Visa cards, held by senior sworn and unsworn members, are meant to be used for "critical incident procurement".

Transaction reports show the cards have been used for payments to cinemas, ten-pin bowling, concert tickets, golf clubs, go karting, magazine subscriptions, bedding, jewellery and even a company that sells dolls' houses and accessories.

The bank statements span 325 pages and show $1588 spent on glass artwork, $22,464.79 on flowers, $11,221.39 on fast food and $3263.67 on alcohol.

The Chief Commissioner's office has spent almost $150,000 on 17 credit cards, including on chauffeur-driven cars, glass artwork and stays at country spa resorts and the five-star Palazzo Versace on the Gold Coast.

Other police departments have spent public funds on massages, Mornington Peninsula's hot springs, thousands at golf clubs and online golf stores and more than $3000 on artwork.

"Cardholders must always act in the interests of the state, as opposed to their own personal interests or convenience and must perform their duties honestly, with skill and care," the Department of Treasury and Finance rules state.

Some transactions show obvious work-related expenses, such as a $390 purchase at a ski shop for tyre chains for a search and rescue operation.

Victoria Police said it carried out regular reviews and "there have been no reportable breaches". But it admits knowing of one private purchase of around $20 that was made inadvertently. The money was repaid.

The documents also show more than $6000 was spent at Barbecues Galore, hundreds at ticket agencies and the Home Barista Institute, $800 at Ace Karts and at least three purchases at baby gift stores.

At least one card has a maximum spending limit of $25,000. Most have a maximum limit of between $2000 and $3000. The highest transaction was for $5892.08 at a hotel in mid-December last year.

Other purchases include $1216 at the Village cinema at Crown and $386.30 at St Kilda Sea Baths followed by $412.80 at the nearby Beachcomber Cafe on Christmas Eve.

There are also payments for a $758.80 roller that picks up nuts and $59.70 at Koorong Books - a Christian bookshop in Blackburn South.

Police Association Secretary Greg Davies said the purchases "beggar belief". "These cards do help members book conference rooms at short notice and things like that but I am damned if I know why glass artworks, massages, spa resorts and cinemas are being booked out," Sen-Sgt Davies said. "It beggars belief that these purchases are being made at a time when operational police struggle to find a working computer ... in order to do their job.

"I would hope Chief Commissioner Ken Lay tightens the reins on this spending."

The transactions include $1588 at Kirra Gallery and $345 at Madison Spa Resort.

On Wednesday, the Sunday Herald Sun asked Victoria Police to explain 70 purchases. Spokeswoman Anna Erbrederis said the force would explain only 20 that it had selected.

Of those, massages were given to data-entry staff, artwork was bought for Box Hill Police Station, alcohol was bought for conferences and functions and three gifts were bought. There was also $2248 spent at Macedon Spa for "work-related travel".

Krispy Kreme doughnuts, karaoke, sporting memorabilia and $96.78 at Harrods in London was also deemed correct use of the credit cards by Victoria Police.

"All transactions were for Victoria Police work-related expenditure and none were in regard to personal use," a spokeswoman said.

"The purpose of the corporate card is to make simple purchases. It is considered easier to use the corporate card and a lot more effective than having employees pay for the goods and then reimburse them.

"Any Victoria Police permanent employee - sworn or unsworn - can request a corporate card with justification and is subject to the approval by local managers and department or region heads. As a general rule, a corporate card should be used for one-off, ad hoc purchases, rather than for the payment of ongoing contracts and services. There are clear consequences if cardholders misuse their cards or if there is unauthorised use."

She added the credit cards can be used for flight and hotel bookings if "out of normal business hours", but it is not encouraged.

SOURCE

2012-02-28T13:07:00.001+10:00

Cop in the dock after drug raid in Maryborough, Victoria

A MAN saw "stars I'd never seen before" after a Victorian policeman "choke slammed" him on a concrete floor during a drug raid, a court has heard.

It was also alleged police told Darren Joy to tell anyone who asked that his injured collarbone was a result of falling off a ladder.

Sen-Constable Grant Allan from Maryborough is charged with 10 offences including intentionally causing serious injury, recklessly causing serious injury, and perverting the course of justice.

Mr Joy told a committal hearing at Bendigo Magistrates' Court yesterday police had come to his Maryborough home with a warrant early in the morning looking for drugs.

Constable Allan pushed him inside the house after telling him "I'm sick of you monkeys lying to us". Mr Joy, 46, said the policeman then gripped his throat. "He carried me from the kitchen to the lounge room and then choke slammed me," he said. "He just lost it. I was seeing stars that I'd never seen before."

Mr Joy denied he was a drug mule but admitted to smoking marijuana frequently.

Another policeman who was at the scene of the alleged assault, Sen-Constable Charles Heatherley, said he had witnessed a physical altercation between Mr Joy and Constable Allan, despite earlier claiming he hadn't seen anything. Constable Heatherley gave evidence that he had changed his original statement because it was filled with lies.

Constable Heatherley denied pointing the finger at his colleague to spare himself from charges. He said the experience of the drug search and OPI inquiry had put him on the brink of a breakdown.

SOURCE

2012-02-28T10:21:00.001+10:00

Australian Crime Commission bungles revealed

A TOP national security agency has suffered a massive blow-out in breaches of its own security, exposing secret operations to outsiders in a trail of embarrassing Get Smart-style bungles.

Australian Crime Commission staff are increasingly compromising or risking investigations as classified intelligence documents are lost, sensitive equipment is misplaced or stolen, and buildings left exposed in often comical circumstances.

Breaches have risen six-fold over the past five years and include a stressed investigator with a full bladder hearing his car being broken into while urinating on a beach.

Secure cabinets have been left open, a package was sent to the wrong address and a sensitive video conference accidentally beamed into the wrong room.

In a "major security breach" in Melbourne last October, security minutes indicate the ACC was forced to suppress a person's information from the public, change their phone and re-register a vehicle after an investigator left intelligence papers on a car roof.

Left it on the bus

"I left carpark, inadvertently leaving the vehicle log book/folder on the roof tucked under the roof rack of the vehicle," the official explained. "An 'ACC HIGHLY PROTECTED' document has been placed within the vehicle log book/folder (instead of a secure briefcase)."

An investigation by The Daily Telegraph has learned the ACC has recorded at least 48 internal security breaches over the past two years after only 24 cases in the previous three.

Documents obtained under freedom of information reveal secure cabinets are left open and staff share security log-ins with unauthorised colleagues, risking a "severe impact on security and integrity".

The most common breach involved staff taking up to a month to report lost security ID passes for ACC offices after losing them in taxis, drains, buses, pubs, airports or on the way to the optometrist, while some cards were not returned by visitors.

Staff found guilty

In one of 25 cases last year - after rising from only four breaches in 2007 - a video conference was beamed into a room at the ACC Canberra HQ, where an outsider was waiting to be interviewed by human resources. "The interviewee was left alone unmonitored," a minute states.

ACC chief executive John Lawler yesterday admitted the number of breaches was too high but said all cases were reported and investigated because of a positive culture of self-reporting and awareness.

"While the number of security breaches is higher than I would like, I would much prefer to know of security breaches," he said. "The ACC places great importance on the security of its premises, people and information."

Three staff have been found guilty of code of conduct breaches, including the investigator with the full bladder who suffered a 2 per cent pay cut and reprimand, but most cases result in little more than staff counselling, such as the car roof error.

In April 2010, a senior investigator in Sydney left 110MB of files relating to the ACC stored on a laptop he had handed in.

SOURCE

2012-02-27T13:24:00.001+10:00

Police scams uncovered forcing two detectives to quit

TWO detectives have quit Victoria Police after admitting they lied to the Office of Police Integrity.

One of them was being investigated over allegedly illegally obtaining a television set recovered during a police raid. The other allegedly got the windows of his personal car tinted then claimed the work was done on a police vehicle.

Magistrate Kate Hawkins said last week that she hoped their cases would send a message to all police that engaging in even minor crimes could cost them their careers.

Leading Senior Constables Richard Sully and Robert Brown were both detectives at the Wonthaggi criminal investigations unit.

Sully, 42, pleaded guilty in Melbourne Magistrates' Court last week to misleading the OPI director in a private hearing. He was fined $4000 without conviction. Brown, 39, pleaded guilty to misleading the OPI director and was fined $2000 without conviction.

Both men resigned from Victoria Police shortly before their court appearance.

The OPI had evidence of them both lying as they contradicted evidence they gave under oath at private OPI hearings.

Brown was accused of obtaining a television set that had been recovered during a police raid on the home of a known burglar.

He then allegedly told an insurance company the television was damaged when it was actually working, and he then purchased it a reduced price.

Sully was being investigated over the window tinting he allegedly got for his personal car. Charges were laid over the window tinting and television allegations, but were later withdrawn.

Magistrate Kate Hawkins said their cases should send a message to all police that they must not compromise their integrity and must act with honesty at all times.

In sentencing Sully and Brown, Ms Hawkins said every police officer must be above reproach and must tell the truth at all times, whatever cost.

SOURCE

2012-02-24T13:05:00.001+10:00

Victoria police sure have got their priorities right

Man claims he was fined $200 for emptying water bottle

A MAN claiming he was fined more than $200 for pouring half a bottle of water on the street says he will fight the penalty.

Truckie Michael Hagen, from Berwick, says he had no idea he was doing anything wrong when he emptied the bottle while pulling up at a Melbourne CBD intersection on Wednesday afternoon.

But moments later Mr Hagen was pulled over and handed an infringement notice for littering.

"I still to this day don't know if what I did was breaking the law. "I didn't even know what I was doing was wrong. It didn't even enter my mind actually," Mr Hagen said.

He said he stopped at the Clarendon St intersection when he poured the bottle's warm contents from the driver's side of the car onto the bitumen before driving off.

He was then pulled over near Crown Casino for what he thought he was a routine check. "I thought they were going to give me a breathalyser or a general check, but they gave me an infringement notice for littering," Mr Hagen said.

"They said: 'You poured a liquid substance out of the window.' I said: 'It's water.' They said: 'How do we know it's water? It could be anything'."

He said it was over-the-top policing and he planned to fight the fine in court. "I was a little bit animated. I wasn't very happy, especially when they gave me a ticket. I wasn't impressed. "They should be paying attention to people jaywalking across the road, that's my concern," Mr Hagen said.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said they were tracking details of the offence yesterday and wouldn't comment.

SOURCE

2012-02-23T10:07:00.001+10:00

Victoria Police confess legal shortcut a threat to thousands of criminal cases

THREE-QUARTERS of Victoria Police officers have confessed to illegally preparing affidavits used to get search and other warrants.

An investigation by the force has identified almost 3000 pending criminal cases in Magistrates' courts which could be affected by the affidavit bungle and faulty affidavits will also be an issue in 299 upcoming Supreme and County Court cases.

Hundreds of convicted criminals are also likely to try to get their convictions overturned by arguing evidence obtained from dodgy affidavits was wrongly used against them.

"There are certainly cases we will be losing and there are others where we will lose some of the charges," Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Tim Cartwright said yesterday.

The more than 9000 police who recently admitted failing to correctly swear affidavits were flushed out by Chief Commissioner Ken Lay's promise not to take disciplinary action against officers who confessed.

Mr Lay's amnesty, which was revealed in the Herald Sun in December last year, resulted in 75 per cent of the force signing disclosure forms admitting to incorrectly preparing affidavits.

A Victoria Police probe into the problem revealed the practice of officers failing to swear affidavits started at least 15 years ago and involves ranks right up to deputy commissioner.

The Herald Sun has also discovered:

POLICE will stop investigations and not lay charges in some cases as a result of faulty affidavits.

SOME of the forces most experienced detectives, including from the Purana gangland killing taskforce, the homicide squad, the Ethical Standards Department and the drug taskforce, have admitted flouting the law for years by not swearing affidavits.

THE embarrassing debacle has also infected the vast majority of suburban and country police stations.

Mr Cartwright stressed that not swearing an affidavit did not mean the contents of the affidavit were false as officers believed that by signing it they were attesting to its accuracy.

But he said he wasn't making excuses for so many in the force having incorrectly prepared affidavits for so long.

"It is deeply regrettable that we have actually had to go through this," Mr Cartwright said.

"We have 9000 members who say basically we got it wrong, or we are not sure we got it right. We shouldn't have got to that situation.

"Having said that, once we have discovered the problem we have worked really hard, and we continue to work hard, to fix it."

"What the challenge is now is to make sure that in future we don't have other similar problems and that we have fixed whatever it is that is the root of this problem."

Tony Mokbel and notorious underworld heavy Sean Sonnet have already seized on the police stuff-up to try to get off drug and conspiracy to commit murder charges.

The revelations in today's Herald Sun are expected to prompt hundreds of others to follow their lead as accused and convicted criminals discover there is every chance their cases involve unsworn affidavits.

Mr Cartwright said some long-serving members of high profile squads involved in major drug and organised crime cases had admitted to never having correctly sworn an affidavit.

"So you can imagine that every case that will have come out of those particular areas will be tested," he said.

Mr Cartwright said it was impossible to say how many prosecutions would be affected as the problem was being handled on a case by case basis as each accused or convicted person came before a court.

He said it will be up to the magistrate or judge in each case to decide whether or not to admit evidence obtained as a result of police using unsworn affidavits.

A judge in one current high-profile case, who can't be named for legal reasons, recently ruled evidence from search warrants was illegally obtained through improperly prepared affidavits.

But the judge used his discretionary power to still allow the evidence into the trial, saying doing so was more desirable than throwing it out.

"The probity value outweighed the prejudicial value is basically what he has found," Mr Cartwright said.

Police and prosecutors are hoping many more judges and magistrates come to the same conclusion as the thousands of cases affected by dodgy affidavits get to court in coming months.

SOURCE

2012-02-22T10:56:00.001+10:00

Thug Qld. Cop loses appeal against finding that he used excessive force in arrest of boy, 15

A FORMER police officer has lost an appeal against a finding he used unauthorised and unjustified excessive force in the arrest of a 15-year-old boy almost five years ago.

The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal has dismissed an appeal by former police sergeant Damien Chapman to overturn a tribunal finding that he used excessive force while arresting the teen at Clontarf, north of Brisbane, on May 18, 2007.

Chapman was initially cleared after an internal Queensland Police Service investigation by then QPS deputy commissioner Kathy Rynders. [Dear Kathy again]

However, that resulted in the matter being referred to QCAT by Queensland's criminal watchdog the Crime and Misconduct Commission. The CMC asked QCAT to review commissioner Rynders' findings and last November the tribunal overturned her decision and found that Chapman had used excessive force.

The 15-year-old, who was not responsible for the offence for which he was arrested, suffered a severely ruptured spleen, which doctors found was the result of blunt force to the area underneath his ribs.

At the original QCAT hearing, Chapman's defence argued the medical report was too inconclusive to say without doubt how the injury occurred. QCAT members James Thomas and Susan Booth disagreed, saying they were satisfied Chapman struck the boy without "authorisation, justification or excuse by law".

They were also critical of the internal police investigation, which they likened to "a relic of earlier armed service orderly room procedure".

QCAT president Alan Wilson, in a just-published 10-page decision, rejected Chapman's appeal, saying it "must be dismissed".

Justice Wilson, presiding in the tribunal's appeals jurisdiction, said the original finding was proper in all of the circumstances.

He said Chapman's appeal had focused on "numerous questions of law", but mainly argued the tribunal's decision was "contrary to, and against, the weight of evidence". "None of (Chapman's) grounds of appeal are made out," he said.

Chapman resigned in the wake of the QCAT ruling. Justice Wilson said during a follow-up hearing the tribunal found it would have ordered he be dismissed had he not already resigned.

SOURCE

2012-02-20T13:15:00.001+10:00

More barefaced lies from the Qld. police

It would become them a lot better if they stopped lying and came clean but they know they are a protected class so have nothing to lose

But they must be rattled now that a newspaper has obtained a copy of the totally dishonest official charge sheet. There is obviously a decent police insider who is disgusted with them

POLICE will describe the shocking bashing of a young man in the basement of a Gold Coast police station as "a brief struggle".

CCTV footage showing officers manhandling, kneeing and punching 21-year-old chef Noa Begic at Surfers Paradise police station has gone viral since it was obtained by The Courier-Mail last week.

One of the officers involved already has been pulled from frontline duties while a joint Ethical Standards Command and Crime and Misconduct Commission investigation is under way. Police are also investigating how The Courier-Mail obtained the video.

The newspaper has obtained a copy of the official charge sheet, with the arresting officers painting a different picture of what happened in the early hours of January 29.

The police statement reports Mr Begic landed face-first on the basement floor because he slipped out of the hands of officers and fell over.

"The defendant planted his feet ... and pushed towards police in a rapid movement which caused police to lose hold of the defendant," the statement reads. "The defendant then fell to the ground."

According to police, Mr Begic then stood up and continued resisting so violently he again fell, dragging officers down with him, despite their repeated instructions to "stop resisting". "After a brief struggle the defendant was secured in a prisoner transport van," the statement continued.

There is no mention of the flurry of punches that followed once Mr Begic was placed in the back of the wagon. The court brief lists the CCTV footage as evidence to support a charge of obstructing police. Police also will call upon footage from Gold Coast City Council cameras in the area where the arrest took place.

It will be alleged Mr Begic was at the corner of Cavill Ave and Orchid Ave about 3.10am with a group of friends when he was approached by police for swearing loudly in reference to two other officers.

The police statement alleges Mr Begic refused to answer questions and laughed loudly at police "on two occasions". He was arrested on a charge of public nuisance relating to his indecent language and escorted to a nearby police car where his "abusive, indecent language and aggressive behaviour" escalated as he demanded to know why he had been arrested.

Mr Begic, who is considering a civil lawsuit against police, will face court in April charged with public nuisance and obstructing police.

SOURCE

2012-02-18T12:20:00.001+10:00

Qld. cops to investigate their own toothless watchdog

QUEENSLAND police have been told to investigate the state's corruption body for failing to interview a decorated former homicide detective named in the Dangerous Liaisons report.

Dangerous Liaisons - released in July 2009 by the Crime and Misconduct Commission - detailed various allegations against 25 police officers.

Former homicide detective Darren Hall said the CMC did not interview him during its five-year investigation. No charges were laid against any of the 25 officers.

Yesterday, the Parliamentary Crime and Misconduct Committee, which oversees the CMC, informed Mr Hall the matter had been referred back to police. "The committee has resolved to ask the police service to investigate your complaints and provide a report on the matters to the committee," a letter addressed to Mr Hall said. "The committee will be in further contact with you once it has received and considered the report from the Queensland Police Service."

Mr Hall said he only wanted justice to be served properly after the report ruined his career. "I suppose hopefully it will mean it will be investigated," he told The Courier-Mail. "And that they will be brought to justice for what they haven't done during those five years - which is interview me and give me a chance to defend myself."

The order for police to investigate the CMC provides another twist to their rocky relationship which was heavily damaged during the investigation into the 2004 death of Mulrunji on Palm Island.

The latest development follows a push from Independent MP Rob Messenger for an inquiry. "This matter casts serious doubt over the integrity of the CMC both past and present," Mr Messenger said. "I have grave doubts that the Queensland police force is up to the task of investigating it and I believe the only solution is for an independent inquiry and I'd hope and demand that (LNP leader) Campbell Newman will support me with my call - and I won't waste my breath with (Anna) Bligh or Labor."

Lawyer Greg Williams, who has supported Mr Hall in his fight, said he believed it was a "world first" for a police force to investigate its own corruption body.

"Even the CMC is not immune to scrutiny - and they shouldn't be," he said. "I believe they have failed miserably by not giving Darren an opportunity to respond to allegations made in their report."

SOURCE

2012-02-18T08:03:00.001+10:00

Top defender for bashing defendant

ALLEGED police bashing victim Noa Begic will be represented by the lawyer who defended wrongly accused terror suspect Mohamed Haneef.

The 21-year-old chef is facing minor charges of public nuisance and obstructing police over his arrest in the early hours of January 29 in Surfers Paradise.

But he is also considering launching a civil action against the police officers who allegedly left him bashed and bloodied in the basement of the Surfers Paradise police station - an incident made public when The Courier-Mail revealed the CCTV footage.

Peter Russo, who helped Dr Haneef beat terror charges, met Mr Begic yesterday and confirmed he would represent him in court, but was reluctant to comment further. "It's very early days," he said.

Mr Begic also has another white knight in his corner - a former model who took on the police and won after five years of harassment and intimidation.

Renee Eaves leapt to Mr Begic's defence and said she would use her experience to help the young dad if he took on the police service in court. She arranged for him to meet Mr Russo, one of Queensland's highest-profile lawyers.

"Police can use what they call 'reasonable force', but how much force is needed when someone is handcuffed and locked in the back of a wagon?" she asked. "I would say none."

Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson has stood by his comment that officers can be justified in punching aggressive offenders, but insisted his words were not in support of those involved in the bashing.

He asked Queenslanders not to lose faith in their police service after footage emerged of a handcuffed man being bashed by officers.

The incident is now subject to a joint investigation by Queensland police and the Crime and Misconduct Commission.

One officer has been removed from operational duties.

"Nothing I said on Wednesday in any way suggested I was supporting the officer who is the subject of the investigation," Mr Atkinson said.

SOURCE

2012-02-17T13:39:00.001+10:00

Police lie to cover for each other, claims former homeless man who was bashed in Queen St Mall

A FORMER homeless man bashed by police in Brisbane's Queen St Mall has urged the young victim of an alleged Gold Coast police assault to fight for justice.

But Bruce Rowe, who launched Queensland's first successful private criminal prosecution against police, warns Noa Begic faces "a long, hard road ahead of him". Mr Rowe, 71, said his own lengthy - and ongoing - battle for justice was frustrated by a police "code of silence" which he believed still existed. "They will lie to protect each other," he said.

Mr Rowe, an engineering graduate who became homeless after the death of his wife of 41 years, was held down and assaulted by police in the mall in 2006 and charged with obstruction and disobeying a direction.

He launched a rare private prosecution after police cleared the five officers involved and the Court of Appeal overturned his conviction.

Last February, the officer who kneed Mr Rowe, Constable Benjamin Arndt, was found guilty of common assault and ordered to pay $3250 in a fine and legal costs. He has launched a District Court appeal. The CMC is believed to be close to completing an investigation into the officers involved.

Mr Rowe said he had seen the video footage of the Begic incident, obtained exclusively by The Courier-Mail, and it was "appalling". He said it had brought up chilling memories of his own ordeal.

"You can't see him (on the video) fighting back or doing anything yet they (the police) are getting stuck into him which is very similar to what happened in my case," he said. "I never resisted and never touched them but they got stuck into me, too.

"Even if he (Mr Begic) has sworn at them or whatever, I can't see any justification whatsoever for punching him while he is laying there in handcuffs. It's appalling."

Mr Rowe said it was fortunate there was video footage of the incident, since he won justice for his assault only by requisitioning CCTV footage from the Brisbane City Council.

"(Mr Begic) should absolutely go for it and fight for justice but I would say he has a long, hard road ahead of him," he said. "My case has been going for nearly six years and I'm still fighting."

Mr Rowe said he was "absolutely disgusted" by Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson's assertion that police could be justified in punching people in the head.

SOURCE

2012-02-17T13:21:00.001+10:00

Top cop on revenge vendetta against those who reveal police misbehaviour

His priorities are arse about. What about working to see that there is no thuggery to record? He should be fired. He is unfit to lead an ethical police force. Fish rot from the head down and Atkinson has just revealed by his behaviour that the the Qld. police force is again no exception. Is he another Terry Lewis?

A CULTURE of fear among police whistleblowers has emerged as Queensland's top cop vowed to hunt the source of an alleged police bashing video.

Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson has pledged a "full, thorough and exhaustive" investigation into the alleged bashing of 21-year-old chef Noa Begic in the bowels of the Surfers Paradise police station. Mr Begic had his hands cuffed behind his back when officers were seen kneeing and punching him.

But Mr Atkinson has also flagged an inquiry into how The Courier-Mail obtained the CCTV footage of Mr Begic's bashing before breaking the story on Wednesday.

The pursuit follows news that Constable Bree Sonter was asked to explain her role in blowing the whistle on former colleague Benjamin Price, who was jailed after he assaulted prisoners.

The Courier-Mail understands that Constable Sonter, labelled "heroic" by the Crime and Misconduct Commission when she was the only officer to report Price, was under investigation for why she did not allegedly alert authorities earlier about his behaviour.

The Price court case and subsequent stories in The Courier-Mail raised questions about how slowly police reacted to the initial report.

Operation Tesco, a 2010 CMC inquiry into Gold Coast police misconduct, heard how a Burleigh Heads CIB whistleblower was given a can of dog food as a "secret Santa" gift by a colleague. The present, handed out at an office Christmas party, was given after he was suspected of "dogging" a workmate over disciplinary matters.

Last November, an inspector from the Ethical Standards Command, the internal affairs division which investigates allegations of police misconduct, was stood down after he left a can of dog food on a colleague's desk allegedly to reprimand him for being a "snitch".

Mr Atkinson said he did not believe the release of the Surfers Paradise video was a "whistleblower act" as an internal investigation into the incident was already under way. "There's nothing there that is exposing or uncovering anything," he said. [You could have fooled me!]

But leading criminal lawyer Bill Potts said police would not have taken the case as seriously without the media exposure. "But for brave whistleblowers and journalists revealing these sorts of things, this type of behaviour would not be exposed in the significant way it has been," Mr Potts said.

Queensland Civil Liberties Council vice-president Terry O'Gorman said Mr Atkinson should be more concerned with the behaviour in the video than in how it went public.

"Rather than conducting a witchhunt into how a video embarrassing the QPS was leaked to the media, Mr Atkinson should be conducting his own inquiry into Gold Coast Police Command, who apparently did nothing about the video or the police involved in the alleged bashing until the video was publicly released," Mr Potts said.

SOURCE

2012-02-16T11:04:00.001+10:00

Driver claims Qld. police bullying people to plead guilty over speeding fines

ONE of the 3000 motorists caught speeding in the Clem7 Tunnel last May has claimed police are "bullying" people into pleading guilty to avoid embarrassment over the controversial fines.

Peter Arnouts is among dozens challenging the fines issued in May after police started enforcing changes to variable speed signs in the tollway.

Although he wanted to plead not guilty because he believed he was in the right, Mr Arnouts said he was "cornered in a room" by two police before the hearing and told he would lose.

"They said they'd reduce the speed on my ticket from 71 to 69 to bring the cost of the fine down from $466 to $333 but only if I pleaded guilty," Mr Arnouts said.

"Then they told me if I went ahead with a not guilty plea, they'd have to bring an expert up from down south which meant I could be liable for costs of $6000. "I felt intimidated, like I was being bullied into it."

Mr Arnouts did as he was told and pleaded guilty but said he had decided to speak out so others would be prepared. "They should know what to expect," he said.

William Burnett also appeared in court this month to fight a Clem7 speeding fine and was also told police would lower the speed to reduce the fine - if he pleaded guilty.

But Mr Burnett said he felt the police prosecutor explained the situation clearly and the decision was left up to him. "She said 'no-one has got off yet and going by the letter of the law they're very unlikely to'," he said.

"She spent a bit of time and told me if I pleaded guilty the magistrate would ask if there was anything I wanted to say, which would give me a chance to say my piece."

The claims follow the release of figures showing police tore up more speeding fines issued in the Clem7 Tunnel due to technical faults, than at any other location.

SOURCE

2012-02-16T11:03:00.001+10:00

Police officers sometimes justified in punching people in the head, says Qld. Commissioner Bob Atkinson

QUEENSLAND'S top cop has declared officers can be justified in punching people in the head. Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson made the comments yesterday after The Courier-Mail revealed CCTV footage from the Surfers Paradise watchhouse showing officers allegedly assaulting 21-year-old chef and father Noa Begic.

Mr Atkinson was asked if there could be any justification for police punching someone in the head, as the footage shows. He said: "Of course ... but it would depend on the circumstances as to whether that use of force - punching someone in the head - was necessary and justifiable."

His comments were backed by Police Minister Neil Roberts. "Yes, if the action was necessary and justifiable, for example as a form of self-defence or in assisting someone else given the circumstances of the situation the officer was confronted at the time," Mr Roberts said.

But Mr Atkinson admitted some officers could become "desensitised" to violence and sometimes "their judgment can be frayed". One officer was stood aside yesterday as the Crime and Misconduct Commission stepped in to oversee the police investigation into the incident.

The Commissioner pledged a "full, complete and exhaustive investigation" but also defended his officers, saying there were many more assaults on police than there were by police on the public. [Big deal!] Mr Atkinson said an average of 600 to 700 complaints of excessive force were made against police each year, but last year 2031 officers were assaulted.

However, he said he did not believe police violence was systemic and complaints about excessive force were declining. "Things haven't gone backwards and I don't believe we're at a crisis point," he said. He would not be drawn on his reaction to the video footage, saying only that it warranted thorough investigation.

Mr Atkinson said the main officer at the centre of the Begic brutality claim had been assigned to desk duties and the CMC had joined the police Ethical Standards Command in a joint investigation.

He also said there would be a separate investigation into how The Courier-Mail obtained the video footage. Mr Atkinson said the leaking of the video was "not a whistleblower act". "There's nothing there that's exposing or uncovering anything," he said.

Australian Civil Liberties Council president Terry O'Gorman said the Begic footage was "appalling" and police brutality was continuing despite the presence of CCTV cameras. "If police are doing this when the CCTV cameras are on, what are they doing away from the cameras?" he said.

Mr O'Gorman said a number of cases of police brutality had not been satisfactorily dealt with, including the bashing of three tourists at Airlie Beach police station. He said while one officer had been jailed over the assaults, others who were present and were "clearly liable" had not been punished.

Earlier, the victim of the brutal police bashing captured on CCTV at a Gold Coast police station made the chilling claims the worst of the violence took place out of the camera's view and officers taunted him that his injuries were "merely a flesh wound".

Noa Begic, 21, was arrested in the early hours of January 29 for being a public nuisance during a night out with friends. Minutes later he was taken to the basement of Surfers Paradise police station, where surveillance footage obtained by The Courier Mail shows him being beaten bloody. A senior officer even uses a bucket to wash away a pool of Mr Begic's blood.

The chef and father-of-one has only now watched the footage for the first time. "It's pretty brutal," he said. "Unfortunately there wasn't a camera around the corner because it would have shown what happened before we came in to view. "I was already bleeding from punches when they pulled me out of the squad car.

"The part just before this video starts is where I get a few really good blows to the head so I was already quite dizzy by this stage. "By the end I was pretty relieved just to make it to the wagon to get out of their grasp."

Even after he was locked in the back of a police wagon it still wasn't over. An officer returned to deliver a few more punches and the door opens again a short time later. "He leaned in and called me racist names and said 'it was only a flesh wound'," said Mr Begic.

"By the end you can actually see a pool of blood from my nose and mouth if you look close enough. "And now you can see him washing away my blood. "At least they're covering their tracks well."

SOURCE

2012-02-15T23:13:00.000+10:00

Another AFP stuff-up

They need a root-and-branch cleanout. This comes after the notorious Mohammed Haneef case, the Julian Moti case and the Fred Martens case, to name just some others

They are totally up themselves

Palm Beach playboy and cigarette importer Mark Coulton has had drug conspiracy charges dropped after the case against him collapsed. This is good news for his brother in law barrister Don Grieve, QC, and Grieve's wife, Dixie Coulton, who each put up $500,000 as caveats against their paddington home. Ms Coulton is a former deputy lord mayor of Sydney.

It comes as a the Sydney magistrate overseeing the case criticised the Australian Federal Police for "jumping the gun" against five men.

They had been accused with conspiring to import drugs from Zanzibar, Tanzania.

Magistrate Graeme Curran yesterday agreed to a request from the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions to withdraw the charges against the men. Magistrate Curran said that police had charged the men before their investigations revealed the type of drug the men had allegedly conspired to import. "It could have been talcum powder for all anyone knows," Mr Curran said.

Mr Curran said the police "may have had quite reasonable suspicions.. but before laying charges you have to know the essential elements". When the police inspected the shipping container in Tanzania, all they found was a batch of sodden cigarettes.

Mr Coultan, 51, was the alleged leader of the group. He was arrested at Sydney International Airport last year after he stepped off a flight from Dubai.

The other co-accused include 34 year old Elias Helou from Lakemba, 50 year old George Samrani from Chipping Norton, 34 year old Robert Ibrahim from Guildford, and 34 year old Walid Chami from South Perth. Three of the men have applied for the AFP to pay their legal costs which could be worth $90,000.

Magistrate Curran said the police statement of facts showed there was "something fishy going on" between the five men between June and October last year.

He said the police evidence was not strong enough to show exactly what the men were up to.

Magistrate Curran said the conversations on the phone intercepts appeared to be coded and their activities were clearly suspect. "This smells to high heaven," he said.

Telephone intercepts recorded Mr Coulton telling another suspect, "we gotta bring this drug". They also recorded Mr Helou telling Mr Coulton "you are the one doing all the drugs, you are the one that's selling all the drugs and cocaine .. you're the one that's doing that .. there's no fucking cigarettes".

SOURCE

2012-02-15T13:51:00.000+10:00

Watchdog must probe 'culture of police violence' in wake of video of handcuffed man being bashed

A 'WIDE culture of police violence' needs to be investigated by the new head of the Crime and Misconduct Commission 'as his major priority'.

Australian Council of Civil Liberties president Terry O'Gorman made the call this morning after viewing shocking video, obtained by The Courier-Mail, of an alleged prisoner bashing in the basement of the Surfers Paradise police station last month.

Mr O'Gorman said police brutality was continuing despite the presence of CCTV cameras. "If police are doing this when the CCTV cameras are on, what are they doing away from the cameras?" he said.

"They are committing what the cameras show - excessive violence, and in some cases grossly excessive violence, against people who are already restrained."

Mr O'Gorman said a number of cases of police brutality had not been satisfactorily dealt with, including the bashing of three tourists at Airlie Beach police station. He said while one officer had been jailed over the assaults, others who were present and were 'clearly liable' had not been punished.

And the Queensland Police Service, while releasing video of the incidents, had refused to release the audio showing the full brutality involved.

Mr O'Gorman said police had also escaped criminal prosecution for the bashing of homeless man Bruce Rowe in the Queen St Mall, and lawyers had to mount a civil prosecution on his behalf.

New CMC boss Ross Martin SC needed to urgently tackle police violence, Mr O'Gorman said. "In our view, the new head of the CMC has to deal with the issue of police violence both on the streets, and against people in custody, as his major priority," he said.

"The examples that we're seeing speak to a wide culture of police violence that even the Police Commissioner (Bob Atkinson) has acknowledged."

SOURCE

2012-02-15T12:31:00.000+10:00

Video shows shock police bashing of young father

Most of the Gold Coast cops seem to be sheer animals. There has been great unrest about them previously

WHEN Noa Begic clocked off after another long night at work he never imagined he soon would be lying handcuffed in his own blood in the basement of a Gold Coast police station.

The 21-year-old father had just finished a long shift as a chef at a Surfers Paradise restaurant shortly before midnight on January 28 when he decided to head out with friends for a few drinks.

Less than three hours later, after "a few beers and a few shots", he left popular Irish pub Waxy's in high spirits and started singing a song from US hard rockers Rage Against the Machine, when he was approached by police officers on patrol.

"The song is called Take the Power Back," Mr Begic told The Courier-Mail. "I don't know why I was singing it, but it's not even one of their controversial songs and there was no swearing. "But these police officers came over and asked to look at my driver's licence. "Then they just cuffed me."

He said he was led to a police car and repeatedly punched on the short drive back to the Surfers Paradise police station, nestled between kebab shops and strip clubs on Orchid Avenue in the heart of the nightclub strip. When they arrived in the police station basement, Mr Begic, whose only previous encounter with the law was a drink-driving charge, knew he was in trouble.

"Even in the back of the car I got hit in the head about seven times and they were making racist comments about me and then when we ended up in that basement I knew there was more on the way," he said. "It was like those movies where you see stuff like that. "It was very intimidating so of course I was pretty worried and then they ripped in to me again."

Closed-circuit TV footage obtained by The Courier-Mail shows the officers slamming Mr Begic face-first to the ground.

He is then struck with a flurry of knees, elbows and fists before being dragged to his feet and ushered into the back of a nearby police wagon. A short time later, an officer opens the back of the wagon and delivers a series of further punches. A senior officer, present for most of the incident, then pours a bucket of water over the ground to wash away the victim's blood.

Mr Begic said the beating was brutal, the treatment grossly excessive. "It's not like I was fighting back or trying to run away," he said. "I was handcuffed and there were four of them. "I was in some serious pain and really only running on adrenalin to get me through it."

He spent the night in the Southport watchhouse and faced court on charges of public nuisance and obstructing police, to which he plead not guilty. He will face Southport Magistrates Court on April 4.

While he escaped serious physical injury, Mr Begic said he had been depressed and withdrawn since the attack.

But he was gaining courage from making a formal complaint against the police. "When I got let out of the watchhouse a couple of the officers even looked at me and went, 'whoa, did you want to make a complaint?' "And at the time I thought there was no point.

"But the more people I have spoken to about what happened to me, the more stories I have heard about it happening to other people. "It might make them think twice next time they try it with someone else."

Police yesterday said the Ethical Standards Command was investigating a complaint of excessive use of force alleged to have occurred at the Surfers Paradise police station on January 29. The investigation is continuing.

Police told AAP the Ethical Standards Command was investigating a complaint of excessive force alleged to have occurred at the Surfers Paradise police station on January 29 and no further comment would be made. Comment has been sought from Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson.

Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers said it would be inappropriate to comment because charges against Mr Begic were still before the courts. "However, the police union fully supports all police involved and we look forward to the chance to make public all facts of this matter in due course," he said in a statement to AAP.

Queensland Council for Civil Liberties spokesman Terry O'Gorman said the incoming chairman of the Crime and Misconduct Commission should investigate the excessive force claim and a culture of impunity in the police service.

"The first thing we will be asking him to do is review throughout the state the procedures for dealing with complaints where people say they have been bashed by police," Mr O'Gorman told the ABC. "There is a culture of impunity amongst a significant number of police who know they can assault people in custody and get away with it."

SOURCE

2012-02-14T13:51:00.000+10:00

Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson caught speeding on Story Bridge, fined $133

POLICE Commissioner Bob Atkinson has been caught speeding on the Story Bridge a blunder he has revealed two days after police and The Courier-Mail launched a road safety campaign.

Mr Atkinson was caught on February 3 and was believed to be travelling at 70km/h in a 60km/h zone. He will lose one demerit point and pay a fine of $133.

Mr Atkinson said he was embarrassed because of his position and because he had just been promoting the road safety message to media. "I feel as though I've let you down, I feel as though I've let my colleagues down (and) I feel as though I've let the community down," he told reporters in Brisbane.

He has blamed the offence on a lapse in concentration. He told reporters that he did not see the speed camera flash while he was driving with a colleague to police headquarters. "It was brought to my notice that there might be an issue last Friday," he said.

It's not the first time the police chief been nabbed for driving too fast. Mr Atkinson said he received a ticket for a similar speeding offence in 2009 while holidaying in NSW. He said he was also caught speeding in 1998 when he was an assistant commissioner in far north Queensland based at Cairns. In 2004, he rear-ended another vehicle while driving a police car and was deemed to have been following the car too closely.

Mr Atkinson said the latest infringement was the only speeding ticket he had received in Queensland in the 11 years that he has been police commissioner.

On Monday, Traffic Hot Spots: You Drive the Change was launched, a campaign encouraging motorists to report bad driving and dangerous roads via The Courier-Mail’s website.

Speeding is listed as one of the Fatal Four, which contribute to the state's road toll.

In a statement posted online, Mr Atkinon said said he accepted responsibility for this infringement and had paid the fine.

"I was aware that the section of roadway was a 60kph zone but was not consciously or deliberately exceeding the speed limit," he said. He blamed a "lapse of concentration". "The detection was from a fixed speed camera. I was aware of its existence in that area.

I sincerely regret this occurrence and apologise to my colleagues and the community. I also acknowledge the support of the media to myself and the QPS in our combined efforts to reduce the road toll.

"The most important issue for me is that those efforts and that work continue unabated. "Despite this breach I am and remain genuinely committed to reducing the road toll and also hope to stay involved in that area after I retire from the QPS."

SOURCE

2012-02-08T09:45:00.001+10:00

Payouts to falsely jailed up by $1m in NSW

THE NSW Police Force was forced to pay out more than $5 million to compensate people it had falsely imprisoned and assaulted last financial year. Figures provided by the office of the Police Minister, Mike Gallacher, in response to questions from the Greens, show this was a $1 million increase on the previous year.

Mr Gallacher said there were 10 matters concerned solely with compensation for false imprisonment, costing a total of $879,102.43. In 2009-10, there were six matters which cost both parties $410,171.92.

A Greens MP, David Shoebridge, who requested the budget estimates figures, said they reveal that in 2010-11 the NSW Police Force paid out more than $5 million for cases involving allegations of police assault, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution, compared to about $4 million the previous year.

"The Police Integrity Commission continues to take a hands-off approach to allegations of police assault and refuses to investigate most complaints," Mr Shoebridge said. "This is far from ideal. "The growing cost and number of these cases are signs of systemic failure of police oversight, which should be of grave concern to the people of NSW and the Police Minister."

Mr Shoebridge said a "genuinely" independent oversight body was needed to investigate these matters.

Paddy Gibson, a researcher at the University of Technology Sydney, was arrested and detained for a few hours in 2007 after a protest during President George Bush's visit to Sydney. He said he was arrested at the end of the demonstration and was sitting in Hyde Park, which was not an excluded area, after the demonstration. He said an out-of-court settlement was reached for his false imprisonment.

A spokesman for the NSW Police said the number of complaints against police for using unreasonable force (including assaults) had dropped from 510 (2009-10) to 478 (2010-11).

A spokesman for Mr Gallacher said appropriate "checks and balances" were in place to investigate complaints against police officers.

SOURCE

2012-01-29T11:30:00.001+10:00

Federal police slow to deal with complaints about abuse of powers etc.

And undue weight is given to the police version of events -- standard procedure when cops investigate cops

THE Australian Federal Police is taking more than a year to address many serious complaints by the public and has ignored repeated calls to fix how it deals with such cases.

In two extreme matters complainants had to wait 1000 days for their problems to be resolved.

A report by the Commonwealth Ombudsman on complaints handling by the federal police also said the public had only a 7 per cent chance of having a complaint upheld, and even less if it related to physical force.

The most common complaint related to discourtesy. Other claims included excessive physical force and corruption.

The acting Ombudsman, Alison Larkins, said the complaints process "continues to deteriorate - particularly in relation to the most serious complaints". The issue had been raised in previous reviews. "But to date the measures the AFP has taken to address the issue have not proven to be effective," Ms Larkins said.

She did not make any formal recommendations in her report, which was tabled in Parliament just before Christmas. No complaint made about excessive physical force from 2007 to 2010 was upheld. But 60 per cent of complaints made internally, including where officers reported themselves, were upheld.

"We continue to see cases where an AFP member's version of events is preferred over that of the member of the public in circumstances where the record does not disclose substantive justification or where corroborating evidence has not been sought," Ms Larkins said.

The federal police aims to resolve minor complaints within 21 days and the most serious complaints within 180 days. But the Ombudsman found it reached this standard in only 6 per cent of cases. Ms Larkins examined 311 cases in which the complaints had still not been resolved after more than a year.

The police received 358 complaints from the public in 2010-11, according to its annual report.

A federal police spokeswoman said a new complaints handling system was in place. "The AFP does recognise that there have been excessive delays in finalising some complaints," she said.

SOURCE

2012-01-28T13:27:00.001+10:00

Queensland cops harass tennis ace

He believes it is because of his Yugoslav ethnicity. Knowing some of the characters in the Qld. police, I can believe it. In the Qld. police you can kill a black man in custody and then be promoted to Inspector

LAWYERS for tennis ace Bernard Tomic will seek out Queensland's top cop to resolve an ugly dispute over a series of $300 traffic tickets.

The 19-year-old, who last week made the fourth round of the Australian Open, was driving his orange BMW sports car when he was pulled over twice in quick succession on Australia Day and issued with traffic infringement notices for driving contrary to the conditions of his licence.

P-platers would ordinarily not be allowed to drive a high-performance vehicle but the world No.38 has been granted an exemption for circumstances relating to his career as a professional tennis player.

After an extraordinary stand-off with police at his parents' Southport home on Thursday, Tomic yesterday engaged top Queensland defence lawyer Chris Nyst, who has represented high-profile clients from football stars to the postcard bandit Brenden Abbott.

The saga made national headlines and went berserk on social networking sites.

Deputy Premier Andrew Fraser yesterday bought in to the debate, declaring no one was above the law.

Mr Nyst yesterday emerged from a meeting with fellow solicitor Jason Murakami and the Tomic family, saying he could not see what the rising star had done wrong and that he would seek a meeting with the office of Queensland Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson.

"I can't see that there has been any wrong done, from what I have been told," he said. "We will speak to the Commissioner about that and see what we make of it."

A spokesman for the Department of Transport and Main Roads said P-platers could be eligible for a certificate of exemption to drive a high-powered vehicle, particularly if it was needed for work.

Between July 2010 and April 2011, the department granted 544 such certificates.

SOURCE

2012-01-21T07:15:00.000+10:00

Police investigate repeated bashing of cricket fan

There were 4 cops around the guy and they already had him down so there was clearly no excuse for the rain of punches. They may have needed to cuff him and frogmarch him to a paddywagon but that is all

POLICE have launched an internal review after footage was released of an officer repeatedly punching a fan at a Sydney cricket match.

"Following vision from a media organisation being made available to police, an internal review of the incident is now under way," a police spokeswoman told AAP today.

"As part of that review police will be speaking with police officers and security personnel and will be examining CCTV.

"Police employ a variety of techniques to achieve compliance and the review will examine whether the techniques used in this instance were appropriate to the situation."

Footage aired by the Seven Network shows a uniformed NSW officer hitting a person at least five times as three security officers restrain the spectator in the stands of the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).

Police allege a 39-year-old man from the southern NSW town of Barellan refused to leave the SCG at about 11pm (AEDT) on Wednesday despite repeated requests to do so.

The man allegedly resisted arrest and was taken to Surry Hills police station where he was issued with a field court attendance notice for remaining within a licensed premises and resisting police.

The police spokeswoman could not confirm the rank of the police officer involved and a court date is yet to be finalised.

SOURCE

2012-01-18T11:04:00.001+10:00

A Pyrrhic victory for the AFP

Their victims got only a slap on the wrist while the AFP got a $10,000 costs award against them! I hope the cops concerned have received "advice". And will the quarantine officer be disciplined for illegally seizing passports?

AN elderly couple have been cleared of obstructing Commonwealth officials after a fracas at Perth International Airport. The incident resulted in the Australian Federal Police arresting the man and throwing him head first into the back of a police van.

Magistrate Catherine Crawford acquitted Neville Willsea, 72, of the obstruction charge this afternoon at a trial at the Perth Magistrates Court. His 70-year-old wife, June Willsea, had also been charged with the same offence but it was dropped at the start of the trial.

However, Magistrate Crawford found the couple guilty of disorderly behaviour after they raised their voices and swore at staff in the customs hall of the Perth International Airport in May, 2010.

The retired couple, who have been together for about 50 years, spend the majority of each year living in Bali, and the court heard they had made the trip from Denpasar to Perth about 25 times.

During the trial, several witnesses told the court Mr and Mrs Willsea became agitated during an argument with a quarantine officer as they went through customs after disembarking from a flight from Bali. An argument arose over a trolley, and the quarantine officer took the couple's passports from them, which they demanded back.

Two nearby Australian Federal Police officers heard the commotion and came over to try to sort the situation out.

Mr Willsea is said to have touched one officer on the chest with the back of his hand and put his other hand down to take hold of the officer's wrist.

The officer reacted immediately, and arrested Mr Willsea, throwing him to the ground and handcuffing him. Closed circuit television footage was played in court showing Mr Willsea being bundled into the back of the police van head first with one shoe on.

Commonwealth prosecutor Alan Troy alleged the pair acted in an "insulting, offensive, threatening" manner.

He also told the court Mr Willsea resisted the arrest and reached for a police officer's hand, which was near his gun, which Mr Troy said led to the officer handcuffing Mr Willsea. "[The officer] was not dealing with a small man," Mr Troy said in court. "He's dealing with someone who is agitated and angry."

Defence lawyer Laurie Levy argued that the quarantine officer who orginally confiscated the passports had no authority to take passports from Mr and Mrs Willsea, and they were entitled to react in the way that they did.

Mr Willsea gave evidence during the trial and claimed the quarantine officer was waving the couple's passports above her head before passing them onto a male colleague. He said he and his wife continually asked for their passports back but he denied swearing or threatening to jump over the counter, as police claimed. “I do not use profane language around women,” he said.

In sentencing, Magistrate Crawford said flights from Bali were considered high-risk for customs staff as many people did not declare goods they were bringing back into the country.

Magistrate Crawford found Mrs Willsea shouted loudly while demanding the passports back and verbally abused staff, saying to one she was a "disgrace", a "dickhead" and "not Australian".

She said she rejected evidence Mr Willsea gave during the trial that he had not sworn because he did not use profane language in front of females, and had used the word "f***" at least once.

"Each behaved in a disorderly manner which contributed loud noise and also caused disruption to the processing of passengers," Magistrate Crawford said. "It was Mrs Willsea's reaction, the shouting and the abuse, that escalated the situation. "There were a large number of people in the [customs] hall at the time."

The couple were each given a $500 conditional release order for six months. Magistrate Crawford recorded spent convictions for both.

She acquitted Mr Willsea on the obstruction charge, saying she found he was seeking help for his wife, who was becoming increasingly distressed, from the police officer and was not trying to grab hold of the gun.

"There doesn't appear to be any reason why matters could not have proceeded by way of summons rather than arrest," she said. The prosecution were ordered to pay $10,000 in court costs.

Outside court, a member of the couple's defence team said they were "very disappointed" with the result of the trial and Mr Willsea regretted the incident "deeply". "But, of course, they're very satisfied with the sentence that was imposed," he said.

"Her Honour took into account the treatment that [Mr Willsea] received at the hands of the relevant officers and the physical effects of that treatment in deciding to give spent conviction orders and good behaviour bonds.

"As I understand it, Mr and Mrs Willsea just want to go back to Bali and live their life as elderly, peaceful people as they have been all their lives."

SOURCE

2011-12-29T09:57:00.000+10:00

Victorian police involved in deadly car chase admit speeding at almost 180km/h

POLICE involved in the deadly car chase of a teenager have been forced to admit they were speeding at almost 180km/h through suburban streets. Their admission came after hi-tech data proved their original statements were false.

In a Victorian first, investigators and international experts took GPS data from the officers' vehicle to prove they were going much faster than they told several inquiries - including an internal ESD inquiry, an OPI probe and a coronial hearing. Two officers could now be referred to the DPP, with the crash killing the young driver and leaving an innocent driver maimed.

Only after being presented with GPS evidence in the Coroner's Court case did the officers admit statements regarding the chase were wrong.

There are now calls for high-speed chases to be reviewed following the death of 19-year-old father of one Shane Bennett.

Mr Bennett's family said while he "absolutely" should have pulled over, he paid the "highest penalty for his stupid decision" and the "dangerous chase" contributed to his death in 2008.

The two officers leading the chase, Senior Constables Cameron Orr and Michael Bednarczyk, are awaiting Coroner Peter White's findings.

The Herald Sun can reveal Sen-Constable Orr was not licensed by Victoria Police to drive more than 150km/h, but admitted in court to reaching 177km/h before Mr Bennett crashed.

The chase began after a police car sighted Mr Bennett's unregistered car, sporting cardboard licence plates, in Frankston, the court heard. He was not wanted for any other reason.

The chase wove through the back streets of Seaford, with Mr Bennett running at least two red lights at more than 100km/h.

The officers were ordered to cease the chase about 15 seconds before Mr Bennett went through another red light - this time crashing into Diane McCready, leaving her with critical injuries. Mr Bennett died in hospital after suffering head and internal injuries.

Ms McCready and Mr Bennett's mother have called for a review of police chase protocols.

The officers originally said they pulled over after hearing command calls for them to stop, the court heard. But after being shown GPS data, they later admitted in court they were still "moving" 15 seconds after the abandon-chase call.

A witness originally complained to the OPI, claiming police were still chasing Mr Bennett when he hit Ms McCready, but that claim was not proved.

Under questioning from counsel assisting the coroner, Tony Burns, the officers denied they ignored important safety measures.

SOURCE

2011-12-26T13:07:00.001+10:00

Qld. police politics ruin murder investigation

This looks very much like a coverup of police links with criminals

THE investigation of a brutal double murder on the Gold Coast was compromised by internal police politics, a former detective who worked the case claims.

A jury took just three hours in September to acquit two men of the 1999 murders in Springbrook of Ann-Maree Kropp and Christopher Nancarrow after a month-long trial - the culmination of 12 years of police work and two separate investigations - leaving the victims' families in despair.

Paddy Fenely, a former Gold Coast CIB detective sergeant, said he and a colleague were just weeks away from making arrests in January 2007 when they were "raided" by officers from homicide, who ordered them to drop the case and have no further contact with the victims' families.

Two men were arrested nine months later, leading to their trial and acquittal this year. "As far as I'm concerned they've just blown it," Mr Fenely told The Courier-Mail.

DNA alleged to be from the suspects was found at the scene, but no motive was established.

However, Mr Fenely said promising lines of inquiry suggesting the murdered couple had been recruited by a drug ring linked to Nomads bikies planning to supply methamphetamine to truck drivers in Murwillumbah appeared not to have been pursued by the officers who took over the case. "I had four people independently tell me the same story," Mr Fenely said. "We were never given the chance to look at that."

Mr Fenely said that, on January 23, 2007, a group of homicide officers "raided our office, with a direction that the investigation had been determined to be a cold case and files were to be handed over to homicide and we were to have no further involvement".

Mr Fenely claims there had been no grounds to declare a cold case and the move was driven by a push to use a controversial strategy in which police directly befriend criminals and get them to admit to former crimes. This is instead of the traditional method of using informants to introduce undercover police to existing criminal networks.

"I said 'righto, we'll go along with your system'," Mr Fenely said. "[But] I was against it. "Their system wasn't working after about six months, it got nowhere, so we said 'righto, let's wrap it up, we know who our two suspects are, work towards going and locking them up'.

"We argued that 'you've had your time, the families need closure, we know who the suspects are, we've identified them', and they wanted to continue to run, which they still did - continue their covert strategies - after we got the boot.

"I said 'these families have waited long enough and they don't need to wait any longer' and they said 'well they've waited this long and they can wait longer again'."

One of the officers who took over the case, Detective Sergeant David Nicoll, told the Brisbane Magistrates Court in 2008 that Gold Coast CIB had been removed from the investigation because of concerns they may have failed to fully probe the possible involvement of a former colleague who lived next door to the murdered couple.

The man, an ex-Gold Coast CIB detective, pleaded guilty to corruption charges and was jailed less than a month after the Springbrook murders.

Calls made on the day the couple are thought to have been killed from the former officer's house to the home and business of one of the men accused of the murders have never been explained.

One highly placed police source said homicide had taken over the investigation because of "sensitive issues that remain within the service". "There was a whole range of reasons, (the corrupt officer) was one of them," the source said.

The parents of Ann-Maree Kropp wrote to Commissioner Bob Atkinson in 2007 demanding to know why the Gold Coast officers had been removed. Then-Deputy Commissioner Dick Conder replied simply: "Members of the Homicide Investigation Unit have carriage of this investigation following previous extensive inquiries conducted by (the Gold Coast detectives)."

Changes to Queensland's double-jeopardy rules in 2007 mean people acquitted of murder can be retried if "fresh and compelling" evidence emerges.

SOURCE

2011-12-24T12:14:00.001+10:00

A case that should worry all Queenslanders

THE tacky, disturbing and totally unnecessary case of Bruce Rowe versus misplaced authority came to an end in the District Court on Monday. Well, it could have, although Constable Benjamin Arndt, who was found guilty of assaulting Rowe in 2006 in Brisbane's Queen Street Mall, could appeal to the Supreme Court or, conceivably, beyond.

The immovable Rowe, who turned 71 on Sunday, was a comparative stripling of 65 when he crossed paths with Arndt and a bunch of other police about 9 o'clock on the night of July 9, five-and-a-half years ago.

In an incident that was widely seen on TV (and is still out there on YouTube), Rowe was arrested, charged and convicted of obstructing police and failing to obey a police order after a disagreement that began in the public toilets and ended with him being held down by four officers and kneed by another.

It dragged through the Magistrates Court, the District Court and the Court of Appeal. The first court convicted Rowe, the second confirmed the conviction but the third overturned it.

The rematch came in the Magistrates Court in February when Rowe launched a private prosecution resulting in Arndt being found guilty of assaulting Rowe, fined $1000 and ordered to pay him $2250 court costs, although no conviction was recorded.

The established forces of investigation or law and order were conspicuous by their absence.

Then Arndt disputed the magistrate's findings but this week Judge Brian Devereaux tossed out the appeal. Watch this space.

The appeal largely revolved around claims that magistrate Linda Bradford-Morgan had relied on information extraneous to the case.

Arndt argued that the wrongful consideration of extraneous materials constituted a substantial miscarriage of the Magistrates Court trial, justice was not seen to be done and the trial was not conducted according to law.

Judge Devereaux was sympathetic to a point but decided it was open to the magistrate to convict Arndt on the original evidence without the distraction of the extraneous material.

He watched the distasteful video "many times" and declared: "It is unnecessary to say I reach precisely the same conclusions ... having due regard to the findings and conclusions of the magistrate but mindful of the errors I have found in her honour's reasoning, I have formed my own conclusion that the force used in the application of the four knee strikes was not authorised or justified or excused by law. "It was unlawful because it was not reasonably necessary and was unjustified in the circumstances."

How did it all come to this and why did it take so long to resolve?

Had Rowe been just another homeless, friendless and vulnerable man it might have been a simple issue resolved in court just after the morning drunks' parade.

In nine cases out of 10, that might have happened. However Rowe, although grieving and troubled, was also a stubborn and courageous man who refused to take a step backwards in the face of what he perceived as injustice.

He ultimately turned out to be more than capable of looking after himself and seeking justice. Perhaps, it is the other nine out of 10 cases we should be worried about.

At the time of Arndt's assault case, Police Union president Ian Leavers expressed concern that the conviction had "dire consequences for all police officers doing their job". "I am very, very concerned now that police officers across the state will be reluctant to do their job and the community will suffer," Leavers said.

It is a seductive sentiment for those who haven't the wit or the humility to ever imagine themselves in Rowe's shoes. However, it is ultimately even more harmful to the community to pretend that police cannot do their job without breaking the law.

And it is an affront to the thousands of police who do manage to do their difficult jobs without breaking the letter or the spirit of the law and apply the police motto of "With honour we serve" to all citizens, regardless of their station or their situation.

Equally worrying is that justice was delivered despite, not because of, the Police Ethical Standards Command and the Crime and Misconduct Commission, which found there was insufficient evidence to charge any of the police officers over the incident.

Subsequent court findings that Rowe was not only innocent but had been unlawfully roughed up must raise questions about the quality and diligence of both investigations.

Had it not been for the toughness and pigheadedness of Rowe, whose "age and slight frame" were noted by the magistrate, a serious wrong would have gone unpunished.

Had it not been for the video evidence, his might have been the feeble voice of an ordinary man who had fallen on hard times against that of police.

The inadequacies of the investigations into this event - and similar failings and inconsistencies in many others - are hardly likely to inspire confidence among the public or the police, who have an equal entitlement to justice.

The Roman poet Juvenal is credited with asking "Who will guard the guardians?" We are yet to adequately answer that, but surely it is not a 71-year-old man.

SOURCE

2011-12-21T20:33:00.002+10:00

Hopelessly corrupt Victoria Police face further brutality claims

And, as in Queensland, people have to file civil claims in order to bring goons to justice

FURTHER allegations of police brutality have emerged in the state's north-east, with civil claims filed over the alleged bashing of two women, including a disabled woman who was allegedly knocked to the ground and capsicum-sprayed, and a man who says police kicked him in the testicles.

The allegations are the latest in a series of police brutality cases that lawyers and community workers say is a problem in the region and which, they say, the Victoria Police watchdog, the Ethical Standards Department, fails to properly investigate.

The Age last week revealed details of an incident on May 2 in which two Mansfield officers, Senior Constable Paul Bell and former senior constable David Eric Farrell kicked, punched and hit with batons two men who had been caught doing burnouts outside the police station. They pleaded guilty to offences including intentionally causing injury after an Ethical Standards investigation uncovered a video of the incident, captured on the dashboard camera of a patrol car.

Mansfield officers Sergeant Cameron McPherson and Senior Constable Paul Storey also face allegations, accused of unlawfully entering a property in Merton, where the elderly mother of two alleged victims lives, on June 13, 2009. It is understood the officers were responding to a complaint by neighbours.

The officers allegedly came through the gate with batons drawn and tried to enter the house without authority, at which point an argument broke out and they are accused of assaulting the alleged victims with batons and capsicum spray.

Martyn Cooper, then 39, who was living at the address and was known to police, alleges he was kicked in the testicles and beaten. His sister, Catherine Louise Alexiadis, also known to police, alleges she was hit with a baton, capsicum-sprayed and suffered extensive injuries, including bruising to her breast, neck, head, legs and buttock and psychological trauma.

Susan Lesley, in her 50s, alleges she received injuries to her shoulder, hip, back and exacerbation of psychological trauma. She is partially wheelchair-bound and uses a walking frame. The three, and another man who was present, were charged with offences including assaulting police, resisting arrest and hindering police, but the charges were struck out in November 2010.

Mr Cooper's mother, 83, was inside the house at the time on oxygen, but said she was not involved in the altercation. The incident was reported to Ethical Standards, which did not find evidence of wrongdoing. But the claims will be tested in a civil court.

In a writ filed in the County Court at Wangaratta on December 13, the plaintiffs claim damages, interest and costs incurred.

A Victoria Police spokesman said an investigation had found the claims "completely unsubstantiated" and the result had been routinely reviewed by the Office of Police Integrity. He said neither Victoria Police nor the members had received any notification of civil action and Victoria Police was not aware of any writs being lodged in the County Court.

Senior counsel Dyson Hore-Lacy previously told The Age that in dozens of cases he had handled over many years involving serious claims of wrongful conduct against police, nearly all were substantiated by the civil courts or settled in the complainants' favour. But he could recall only one of these cases being substantiated by Ethical Standards, and that was when a police officer unexpectedly confessed.

Other parties, including one of the victims bashed on video on May 2, are understood to be considering civil action in relation to three alleged incidents of police brutality within the past two years.

SOURCE

2011-12-21T09:49:00.001+10:00

No ethics evident in W.A. dickless Tracy

A FORMER police officer who pleaded guilty to trying to cover up a speeding offence has been fined $300. Kim Vary Rainier, 38, who was a police officer for four years, appeared in the District Court charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice.

She admitted to falsifying paperwork in a bid to cover up doing 72km/h in a 60km/h zone in a police car in South Perth in September last year. After being caught by a speed camera, the officer fabricated her report, saying she had been catching up with a car being driven erratically.

While sentencing her in the District Court today, Judge John Staude noted it was unfortunate the minor traffic offence had cost her her career and said he believed she had been treated unfairly.

The judge fined Rainier $300 but entered a spent conviction.

A spokesman for Police Comissioner Karl O'Callaghan said Ms Rainer had resigned from the WA Police. "It is the Commissioner of Police and not the Judge that is accountable for the conduct of WA Police and must have confidence in the officer," he said. "It is not disputed that the officer was dishonest and falsified evidence (not just paperwork) for her own benefit.

"These were deliberate and calculated acts to which she pleaded guilty and the personal remarks of the sentencing judge do not detract from the facts.

"The removal process considered the officer’s overall conduct and the calculated and deliberate acts of dishonesty to avoid personal accountability and gain a benefit were such that the Commissioner could no longer have confidence in her."

The spokesman said there would not be a review, albeit the officer could appeal to the WA Industrial Relations Commission. He denied there was a culture of covering up speeding fines in WA Police.

SOURCE

2011-12-20T00:22:00.001+10:00

Judge upholds cop's conviction for assault

Why was no criminal conviction recorded against this scum? It is a sad day when citizens (such as Mr Rowe and Miss Eaves) have to launch private prosecutions to prove police misbehaviour. The police brass obviously believe there is a degree of assault by police that should be permitted. That is however an entirely extra-legal view.

The Commissioner himself is tainted by his inaction in these cases -- even more so since he used taxpayer funds to defend the erring officers and take their cases to appeal

One can only hope that there will now be disciplinary action against Arndt after the failure of his appeal confirms what garbage he is

A policeman who was found guilty of assaulting a homeless man in a Brisbane mall has had his appeal against the verdict dismissed.

Constable Benjamin Arndt was fined $1000 in February, with no conviction recorded, for assaulting 65-year-old Bruce Rowe in Brisbane's Queen St Mall in 2006.

He was one of four officers who restrained Mr Rowe after he failed to obey a cleaner's request to leave a public toilet in Brisbane's Queen St Mall where he was getting changed.

Security video of the incident, which attracted national media attention, formed the basis of Mr Rowe's assault complaint. He had originally been found guilty of obstructing police and disobeying a lawful direction, but the decision was overturned on a second appeal. Mr Rowe then launched a successful private prosecution for common assault against Const Arndt.

In documents lodged in the Brisbane District Court, Const Arndt argued the magistrate erred by considering the previous court cases between Mr Rowe and Const Arndt when making her decision in the latest case.

Const Arndt also alleged evidence was improperly led during the private prosecution and claimed the magistrate had failed to make sufficient rulings on a number of pertinent issues including the lawfulness of a "move on" direction given to Mr Rowe before the incident.

Judge Brian Devereaux dismissed these claims in Brisbane's Court of Appeal on Monday. He found the magistrate had erred by considering previous court cases but that the guilty verdict stood.

"Mindful of the errors I have found in her Honour's reasoning, I have formed my own conclusion that the force used in the application of the four knee strikes was not authorised or justified or excused by law," the judge said.

The Police Ethical Standards Command and Crime and Misconduct Commission had found there was insufficient evidence to charge any of the police officers over the incident.

SOURCE

2011-12-18T10:04:00.001+10:00

Crooked NSW police watchdog

They think they are a law unto themselves

THE former Kings Cross police officer Wendy Hatfield was indignant when she was falsely portrayed having sex with the nightclub boss John Ibrahim in the Nine Network's hit series Underbelly. She sued the network for defamation and won.

Now Ms Hatfield is planning to take on the police watchdog for giving Nine information during the defamation case that she provided to the Wood royal commission into NSW police in 1994, which she says should never have been released.

A Police Integrity Commission spokeswoman confirmed documents were released to Channel 9, but said they were already on the public record.

However, in a previous case in the NSW Court of Appeal, Ms Hatfield was told her commission statements could not be used in any court, as she was an unwilling witness during proceedings. She says the commission breached her privacy by releasing a statement which detailed a sexual assault committed against her. Another document released was an interview she gave while under sedation as an inpatient at the Northside Psychiatric Hospital.

Ms Hatfield has made a complaint to the office of the Inspector of the PIC, as well as the Attorney-General, Greg Smith. She is now seeking legal advice about suing the commission. ''Public humiliation is the worst torture society can inflict on a person,'' she said. ''I just don't want this to ever happen to anybody else.''

Ms Hatfield said she learnt that three statements were given to the network by the PIC during her defamation claim. One was a transcript of an interview she gave in 1995 while she was in the psychiatric hospital and on suicide watch.

''I was heavily sedated and was an inpatient for approximately three weeks. In this timeframe, I was forced to get out of my bed, and go to a patient waiting room with two male investigators and a male legal representative. They compelled me to give answers to their questions,'' Ms Hatfield said.

She was also concerned that she was never given the chance to see and sign the statutory declarations she gave to the royal commission. ''In one of these statutory declarations, I had been asked about a sexual assault that occurred against me in the line of duty in 1993 where the offender was never caught. This had nothing to do with the commission, and now I don't know who has seen it.''

The Royal Commission Act states that any evidence given in a royal commission cannot be used in any other civil or criminal proceedings.

Ms Hatfield said she was desperate to show the government that the legislation governing the PIC was failing. ''Through three civil court proceedings I have earned my credibility back and I am going to do whatever I can to highlight to the NSW government that the current legislation governing the PIC is ineffective and dangerous,'' she said.

Since 2006, the former inspector of the PIC Peter Moss, QC, has published 13 critical reports against the PIC.

SOURCE

2011-12-18T09:42:00.001+10:00

Lazy Qld. cops give embezzler a pass

FAKE Tahitian prince Joel Morehu-Barlow fled to Australia after a complaint was made to New Zealand police about an alleged criminal offence seven years ago. The revelation will embarrass the Crime and Misconduct Commission, police and Queensland Health, which last year dismissed a complaint about Barlow without a proper investigation.

The Sunday Mail has discovered Barlow's childhood "castle" was really an ageing weatherboard home with a tin roof in Thames, on New Zealand's North Island. His mother the "Queen", Andre Barlow, was last year convicted in the Wellington District Court of stealing almost $25,000 from her lesbian partner's inheritance funds to pay her bills.

Barlow, who was charged last week with embezzling $11 million from Queensland Health, was a child when he began lying about his links to royalty, schoolmates said. "He went on a bit about how he was famous," former Thames High School pupil Michael Barrett said. "He would carry around a staff."

Further details of the criminal allegations against Barlow cannot be published due to legal reasons, but it can be revealed he was a cross-dressing chameleon obsessed with his appearance.

He was a frequent customer in Brisbane spas and beauty clinics where he would get spray tans, eyebrow shaping and Botox. He was often seen in drag at The Sportsman Hotel in Spring Hill, patrons said. "When he was dressed as a man he shouted everyone, but when he was in drag everyone shouted him," one said.

He was fond of throwing lavish parties, including a massive $130,000 bash for his birthday.

Barlow had lived in a Vernon Tce apartment in the inner-Brisbane suburb of Teneriffe since about 2004 and in the early days was often seen dressed as a woman.

He worked for the Children's Commissioner in NZ and also for the NZ Inland Revenue.

The CMC is investigating Queensland Health and police over the fiasco, but a spokeswoman confirmed the watchdog also would look at its own role, amid serious questions about its handling of complaints.

The CMC referred last year's complaint to Queensland Health, but retained oversight and accepted an inadequate investigation that did not even question Barlow.

SOURCE

2011-12-15T09:26:00.001+10:00

Victorian police busted bashing hoon driver in Mansfield

What the cops did was of course improper but I am rather glad they knocked the defiance out of these louts. They would have done a lot more good for the community than the pissweak sentences handed down by our legal system. I think that the sentences imposed were appropriately lenient

VIDEO footage has revealed the ferocity of a police attack on a hoon driver who did burnouts in front of a town cop shop. The images, captured by a dashboard camera in a police car, show an officer kicking and bashing the driver with a baton.

David Bray, 32, and his passenger, Ryan Boyd, 19, left smoking rubber outside Mansfield police station on May 2. A court hearing was told police later stopped them on a back road and said: "Do you think you run this town? We do."

Senior Constables Paul Bell and David Farrell are then alleged to have attacked the men.

One was kicked and hit with the baton and the other was punched and slapped.

Sen-Constable Bell, who is suspended without pay, was found guilty in Wangaratta Magistrates' Court yesterday of charges including intentionally causing injury and unlawful assault. He was given a 12-month supervised community-based order and told to perform 60 hours of unpaid community service.

Farrell, who resigned from the police force in October, pleaded guilty last month to intentionally causing injury and was put on a 12-month community-based order, without conviction.

Sen-Constable Bell's solicitor, Bernie Balmer, said the officers had been frustrated at the road antics of the men they intercepted.

"People will be in two camps." he said. "Some will say they got their right whack; some will say people can't be treated like that. Out of frustration, they've acted the way they have."

Mr Balmer said one of the officers had previously been shot at, and they had attended road deaths and suicides.

Victoria Police declined to comment because of the 28-day appeal period available to Sen-Constable Bell.

SOURCE

2011-12-14T13:19:00.002+10:00

NSW Police arrest suspects who were angry at failed dog searches

They should cop it sweet when they have wrongly detained people. But instead of apologizing they arrest their victims. The failure rate of the sniffer dogs is so great that the whole project would be abandoned by any police force with respect for the innocent

AN INCREASING number of people searched for drugs but not found to be carrying them after being identified by police sniffer dogs are being charged or cautioned for angry outbursts against police.

The failure of a record 80 per cent of sniffer dog searches this year has also raised questions about the potential for legal challenges against police by people not found to be carrying drugs.

Official government figures provided in response to questions on notice show that in the nine months to September more than 300 people were charged for offences relating to their interaction with police while being searched for drugs.

All 307 people were among the 11,248 people found not to be carrying drugs after they were identified by sniffer dogs and searched by police. Last year 305 people were charged for similar offences; in 2009 it was 264, in 2008 it was 85 and in 2007 it was two.

The NSW Greens MP David Shoebridge, who requested the government figures, said there was no excuse for poor behaviour towards police, but questioned the value of intrusive body searches on people suspected of carrying drugs, where in the vast majority of cases no drugs were found.

The Police Minister, Mike Gallacher, said yesterday he supported the use of sniffer dogs, which had a highly acute sense of smell and could detect on people traces of drugs or explosives even after they had been discarded.

SOURCE

2011-12-14T13:00:00.001+10:00

Aggressive Gold Coast cop harasses tennis champion

This is very reminscent of the Renee Eaves case on the Gold Coast. The cop had better watch out that he doesn't end up the same way

GOLD Coast tennis star Bernard Tomic is claiming police harassment after being pulled over for allegedly hooning in his $150,000 high-powered sports car.

Tomic, Australia's top-ranked male tennis player, says he is being victimised by a 'jealous' Coast traffic cop who has pulled him up several times while out and about in his distinctive bright orange BMW M3. The 19-year-old P-plater has a special Department of Transport exemption allowing him to drive the V8-powered vehicle.

Tomic alleged he was being targeted by the officer, who he refused to name, and said he was 'scared'. "He doesn't like me for some reason ... he's always on my tail," the teenager said. "I think it's really bad. I haven't done a thing wrong - I just go about my business as a tennis player."

Tomic said he was pulled up on Sunday night in Surfers Paradise after he was allegedly seen hooning on the Southport Spit. He said he was pulled up at traffic lights and denied he had broken the law. "I didn't speed, I didn't do any of that stuff," he said.

"The car's very loud but I don't know what he (the police officer) defines as hooning.

"It (being pulled over) scared me a bit, to be honest. He's pulled me over a few times but now it's starting to get a little bit more aggressive."

Police said the special licence exemption allowed Tomic to drive the BMW to and from training at Southport's Queens Park tennis centre. But Tomic, who this year became the youngest man to make the Wimbledon quarter-finals, said he understood he was entitled to drive at any time in the course of his professional duties.

"I've got training, gym, massages and meetings I have to go to ... my days are very busy getting ready for the summer (tennis season)," he said.

"I don't know what it is - jealousy or whatever - but this policeman seems to have it in for me. If I did the wrong thing, he would charge me, but he hasn't. "I know he has a job to do but so do I."

However, Tomic said he did not plan to lodge an official complaint about the officer. "If he wants to keep pulling me over, there's nothing I can do about it," he said.
"I just hope it stops."

SOURCE

2011-12-14T12:19:00.002+10:00

Police riot at charity function in Sydney

A HEAVILY pregnant woman who copped a face full of capsicum spray after the riot squad closed a charity function at the Avalon Beach RSL Club on Saturday night is concerned for the welfare of her unborn child.

Miranda Minter, 35, was at the club for a cancer fundraiser when police entered the function room about 11.15pm.

She claims to have been sitting about 1m from a man who was subdued by police after he was allegedly found in possession of cannabis. “I just got all the pepper spray in my throat and my nose and I actually vomited,” she said.

“I tried to get out but they locked the entrance - I was locked inside and my fiancee was locked outside. I have never ever seen such police brutality in my life.”

Video footage obtained by the Manly Daily shows Ms Minter’s fiancee pleading with police for her to be let out of the function room, telling them she is eight months pregnant, to which an officer replies: “Well she shouldn’t be here then - she should be at home”.

The video also reveals patrons loudly and repeatedly abusing the police.

Local police said the riot squad had to be called after the crowd became unruly when the man was arrested, but staff and patrons at the club have accused the riot squad of brutality and said innocent people were sprayed with capsicum spray, punched and hit with batons.

The function, which attracted about 150 people and featured several bands, was being held to raise money for a cancer patient hospice at North Sydney.

The man who organised the fundraiser, Hung Donkey bass player Clay MacDonald, said “it was devastating to watch this crazy violence unfold on what should have been a peaceful night. Not for 18 years have I seen such a hyper-display of police brutality and aggression,” he said.

“They had a few officers amongst them that held their composure and did the right thing but for the most part these police officers lost control of themselves and the situation.”

Northern Beaches duty officer Insp Sam Bartlett said the drug dog and several officers entered the club and the dog indicated one of the patrons was in possession of a drug. He said the Newport man, 35, objected to being searched, resisted arrest and had to be subdued with capsicum spray.

Insp Bartlett said other people took exception to the man’s arrest and became unruly, leading to five being charged with offensive conduct or offensive language. He said the riot squad was called in to quell the disturbance. “The man objected to being arrested and the situation deteriorated when he played up and others got involved,” he said.

A staff member who asked not to be named said the police ordered the doors to the auditorium to be closed.

“The manner in which the officers behaved with their unprovoked assaulting of young adults and threatening behaviour completely escalated the situation despite the security, duty managers and staff members’ best efforts to calm the situation and prevent injury to patrons,” he said. A police spokesman said the allegations raised would be treated as a complaint and investigated.

SOURCE

2011-12-14T12:19:00.001+10:00

NT: Year in jail before teen walked free

There were apparently at least four people present at the approximate time of death so police at no time had any basis for singling just one out for prosecution. Their informant could have been the guilty party

A TEENAGER suspected of murder was interviewed by police against his will and kept in a cell without a mattress or running water, an inquest has heard.

Jordan Danny Thompson, 17, spent a year in jail on remand accused of fatally stabbing a retired teacher who paid young Aboriginal men for sex. He was freed when the case against him collapsed at trial. No one else has been charged with the murder.

Counsel assisting the Coroner, Elisabeth Armitage, told the inquest yesterday the bungled murder case had prompted an internal police investigation. NT Police Commander Peter Bravos is set to give evidence into the botched investigation.

The inquest heard yesterday that Michael Condrick, 50, died of a "catastrophic haemorrhage" after being stabbed in the neck in his Katherine unit about midnight on June 21 last year. Clothing, an Xbox, iPad, phone and a backpack were stolen from the unit.

The inquest heard Mr Condrick's former students from nearby communities regularly visited his house to drink and smoke cannabis. "It appears he engaged in sexual relationships with some young men that came to his house," Ms Armitage said. None of those men were known to be under age.

Mr Thompson and Mr Condrick's lover, Samuel Wesan, 27, were in his unit on the night of the retired teacher's death. Ms Armitage told the inquest the men accused each other of murder, but the victim's blood was found on both of the men's clothing. Two days after Mr Condrick's death Mr Wesan told police Mr Thompson committed the murder and the teen was arrested.

Ms Armitage said during the investigation Mr Thompson was kept in custody for a significant period and housed in an inappropriate cell.

"There was no mattress and his water was turned off. That was initially to allow for forensic procedures but people forgot to turn it back on. Police received clear advice that he did not want to participate in interviews but interviews occurred." Some were not recorded.

Ms Armitage said it was unclear why Katherine police took charge of the murder investigation instead of the Major Crime unit. She said at the time the Major Crime unit's resources were focused on other cases.

The inquest also heard evidence from two people who discovered Mr Condrick's body. Mark Runyu and Leighton McCartney had gone to Mr Condrick's house to drink alcohol and smoke cannabis. Mr Runyu said he did not report the murder to police because he was "too scared".

SOURCE (Via Strange Justice)

2011-12-11T10:21:00.001+10:00

A thin white line in NSW

Two senior policemen found doing cocaine at big party at a Paddington pub

TWO senior policemen who tested positive for cocaine the day after a work bash at a Sydney pub will be sacked. Shane Diehm, a detective inspector, and Inspector Matthew Dennis will be dealt a "loss of confidence" motion by Commissioner Andrew Scipione and stood down.

A third officer, Australian Federal Police sky marshal Darren Kolosque also faced the sack after a separate investigation by the AFP. He has resigned.

The three were at a party on August 5 for the retirement of former detective superintendent John Alt, a respected commander who left the force last year.

Among more than 100 guests were officers from the force's Professional Standards Command which investigates police misconduct, such as drug and alcohol abuse.

Tipped off about the trio's activities a day after the function, NSW Police and the AFP arranged for drug tests. Inspectors Diehm and Dennis were investigated but refused to "make admissions" on where they acquired the cocaine or how much they had consumed.

The test on Insp Diehm, who was crime manager at Tweed-Byron Local Area Command, returned higher traces of the drug. The Sunday Telegraph understands neither Insp Dennis, who was at Hunter Valley Local Area Command, nor Insp Diehm will face criminal charges.

A senior police source told The Sunday Telegraph this was because the drugs had been consumed and there was no criminal charge that could be applied.

A separate inquiry by the Police Integrity Commission is investigating an alleged conversation about securing a medical payout through the police death and disability scheme instead of being sacked.

The scheme is currently the subject of controversy after changes were made by the NSW Government preventing officers from manipulating the system.

Days after the Paddington function, Insp Diehm was called to a meeting with PSC officers and suspended on full pay. And Insp Dennis, who was driving to the Snowy Mountains for a holiday, was called and asked to pull into Queanbeyan police station for a drug-test.

Agent Kolosque, a former NSW policeman and recipient of a bravery award, is understood to have confessed when quizzed by AFP investigators.

SOURCE

2011-12-08T12:17:00.001+10:00

Top NSW cop gets 16 years for drugs plot

Greed

DISGRACED crime fighter Mark Standen will spend at least 16 years behind bars for his role in a drug importation conspiracy plot.

The former assistant director of investigations at the NSW Crime Commission was in August found guilty by a Supreme Court jury of plotting to import 300kg of pseudoepherine. He will not be eligible for parole until June 2024, with Justice Bruce James taking into account that Standen has been in custody since his arrest in June 2008.

He was also convicted of taking part in the supply of the supply of 300kg of the substance, used in the manufacture of the illicit drugs speed and ice.

Justice Bruce James said in his sentencing remarks this morning that Standen had conspired with his informant, drug trafficker James Kinch and food wholesaler Bakhos "Bill" Jalalaty from between January 2006 and June 2008 to import the substance.

The court heard the drugs were to be placed inside a shipping container filled with rice that would travel to Australia from Pakistan.

Justice James said that Standen "used his personal contacts (including those working at Customs) to make enquiries for the purpose of ascertaining whether the shipment of rice had come to the attention of authorities."

The court heard it was an "abuse" of his role at the NSW Crime Commission. "One of his duties (at work) was to investigate drug trafficking, the criminal conduct of the very sort in which he engaged," Justice James.

Standen's two brothers were at Darlinghurst courthouse to hear his fate this morning.

The Judge described Standen's relationship his informant Kinch as one which "irretrievably" corrupted him. His sentence followed a five-month trial that began in March this year.

SOURCE

2011-12-08T10:48:00.001+10:00

Wife-bashing W.A. cop quits the force

They've got some choice ones in the W.A. force

DISGRACED policeman Niko Westergerling has resigned from WA Police - three weeks after he allegedly fired shots from his police-issue gun at a car in Nollamara.

Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan revealed during today's live Q and A with PerthNow readers that he had accepted Sen-Constable's Westergerling's resignation, effective immediately.

Sen-Constable Westergerling, 39, has been criminally charged with unlawfully firing a gun at a car of four women and a toddler during a traffic stop in Nollamara on Monday, November 14. He will appear in the Perth Magistrates Court on December 16.

In the wake of the incident, the officer was immediately stood aside from duties as it emerged he had been convicted of bashing his wife and was also facing an Internal Affairs Unit probe, amid claims he had unlawfully accessed the WA Police database.

At the time, it was revealed the senior constable had been convicted and fined $2000 for a brutal attack on his wife during a heated argument at their Innaloo home in February.

Subsequent claims then arose that he had misused the secure police database to access information unrelated to his police work. That investigation by Internal Affairs Unit officers continues.

In March, Sen-Constable Westergerling narrowly avoided jail and was fined $2000 after admitting to repeatedly punching and kicking his wife during a heated argument on February 14 while he was off duty.

The court heard that the couple, who have been married for 10 years and have two young children, were arguing at their Innaloo home about a planned trip to the movies to celebrate Valentine's Day. After his wife threw a pile of his clothes onto their driveway from a balcony, Westergerling pushed her to the floor, punched her in the eye and kicked her to the body and legs.

At the time the court heard Sen-Constable Westergerling only stopped the assault when his wife threatened to call the police. She sustained a swollen and bruised right eye and cheek and bruises to her body.

Defence lawyer, Gabrielle Clarke, said her client accepted full responsibility for his behaviour, which he had described as "unacceptable and disgusting''.

SOURCE

2011-12-06T12:12:00.002+10:00

Bungling NSW cops shoot one of their own and try to blame it on a Vietnamese guy

And why weren't they in uniform? The Viet guy had no way of knowing they were cops. He has a good self-defence case. The whole operation reeks of overconfidence and incompetence

WHEN the screaming stops, all that can be heard is anguish in the voices of police as they realise Constable William Crews cannot be saved. "I don't know who shot him, him or me. He's dead," the officer who fired the fatal round is heard to say. Another officer is recorded saying: "Mate, he's dead."

The graphic police-recorded video that captured Constable Crews' final moments was played yesterday at a committal hearing for Phillip Nguyen, the man accused of the young officer's manslaughter.

The 26-year-old officer's family were in court to watch the footage, which also shows the trainee detective lying motionless on the floor of a Bankstown garage.

Nguyen, 56, accused of firing the first shot during the shootout that erupted as officers carried out a search warrant on September 8, 2010, is charged with Constable Crews' manslaughter on the grounds of excessive self defence.

Burwood Local Court was told the police operation, conducted by the Middle Eastern organised crime squad after receiving information that drug deals were being done from within the garage, was deemed to be "low-risk", with Constable Crews among officers dressed in plain clothes.

The search warrant video was the first piece of evidence tendered during the two-week committal hearing for Nguyen that will determine if the case can proceed to a Supreme Court trial.

Gunfire is heard soon after the tape begins, followed quickly by screams of "officer down".

Police can be heard screaming at Nguyen to "drop your gun it's the police, there's a police officer down with a gunshot to the head" before pleading with him to "throw the gun out, we will not hurt you".

The screaming stops soon after and is replaced by the distressed voices of officers as they try to save their dying colleague.

The court heard Nguyen believed officers were "fake police" because they weren't in uniform and thought they may have been robbers.

Crown prosecutor Sevinch Morkaya told Magistrate Brian Maloney that the shot fired by Constable Crews' colleague "was not a careful, well-aimed shot". "His intention was to shoot the accused, but that was the shot that ultimately killed the deceased."

SOURCE

2011-12-02T13:22:00.001+10:00

Another thug cop gets off lightly

Why wasn't he charged with assault?

A QUEENSLAND police officer demoted for the wrongful arrest of a female officer, with whom he was romantically linked, has won an application to have his disciplinary period halved.

The Queensland Court and Administrative Tribunal has allowed serving police officer Mark McKenzie's appeal to reduce his demotion, from sergeant to senior constable, from two years to one year.

QCAT president Justice Alan Wilson and judicial member James Thomas, QC, in a just published 10-page decision, allowed Constable McKenzie's appeal against disciplinary action taken against him by acting Queensland Police Commissioner Tony Wright.

Commissioner Wright found Constable McKenzie, a sergeant at the time of the incident, had "inappropriately and forcibly detained" fellow Mount Isa officer Constable Jane Moran on March 1, 2008.

Justice Wilson and Mr Thomas’s decision means Constable McKenzie would not have to incur an expected impost of $23,000 lost in wages.

In February this year The Courier-Mail revealed Constable McKenzie lost an application to overturn an early 2009 decision to demote him after an internal disciplinary investigation and hearing.

QCAT member Joanne Browne, in a 21-page decision released in November last year, said: "Investigations have identified that whilst off duty you (McKenzie) became involved in an incident at police accommodations at Stanley Street, Mount Isa, where you detained Ms Moran."

She said he grabbed Ms Moran, forced her face-down on to a bed, handcuffed her and told her that she was being detained for domestic violence.

"Your actions resulted in Jane Sonya Moran sustaining injuries, including a fracture of the right eye socket," Ms Browne said.

"The QPS having found the charge (of inappropriately and forcibly detaining Ms Moran) to be substantiated, ordered McKenzie be reduced in rank from sergeant . . . to senior constable for a period of two years, effective from February 2010."

Constable McKenzie applied to QCAT to review the QPS findings and his demotion, on the grounds that it was manifestly excessive.

QCAT was told both officers became involved in a romantic relationship while living in separate QPS units at Mount Isa.

The tribunal heard conflicting versions of the March, 2008, incident, in which it was alleged Constable McKenzie feared Ms Moran might stab him after being awoken by her while he was asleep in his unit.

He said he then tried to subdue Ms Moran using police handcuffs to restrain her.

But Ms Browne, in her findings, said she agreed with the QPS determination and sanction, with his conduct not meeting community standards.

"The tribunal finds . . . the conduct of SC McKenzie is of such a nature as to erode public confidence in the police service and the sanction imposed was therefore appropriate," she said.

In September Justice Wilson and Mr Thomas, in reducing Constable McKenzie’s disciplinary period, said the original "penalty was too harsh."

"Regard should ... (have been given) to the fact that the (Constable McKenzie) has performed good service both before and after the incidents," he said.

"There does not seem to be any realistic chance, or discernible risk, of any repetition of the incident in question.

"All things considered we are persuaded that the present penalty was too heavy and that, in the interests of consistency, it should be replaced with a reduction in rank from Sergeant … to Senior Constable … for a period of one year."

SOURCE

2011-11-29T08:55:00.001+10:00

Public trust hit by spate of rogue police officers

Only a nong would trust the Qld. wallopers anyway

DISCIPLINARY problems among Gold Coast police and declining public trust have been exposed in internal briefings obtained by The Courier-Mail.

Thirty Gold Coast officers were subject to internal disciplinary hearings in 2010-11 as part of a crackdown that followed a rise in complaints.

One officer was dismissed after being investigated for "stealing from a social club". Eight others, probed for a range of more serious offences including fraud, perjury, supplying drugs, sexual misconduct with a witness and forgery, resigned.

A further four officers were stood down and two suspended. Five of the matters were dealt with by the courts.

Twelve other officers were fined, demoted or reprimanded for discipline breaches, including using a police vehicle to buy alcohol and falsifying rosters, according to documents obtained under the Right To Information laws.

The Crime and Misconduct Commission's widely publicised Operation Tesco corruption probe into Gold Coast police in June mentioned just three unnamed officers.

The investigations came amid a rising trend in complaints about Gold Coast officers, who since 2007 have attracted complaints at twice the rate as the QPS as a whole.

The Courier-Mail revealed in August that more than 20 QPS officers had quit in the previous 18 months, after being investigated over serious incidents, from corruption and favouritism to sexual misconduct and inappropriate behaviour.

Revelations of misconduct appear to have eroded public trust in police. Surveys conducted for the QPS show that statewide in 2010-11, seven out of 10 people agreed with the proposition "most police are honest", down from eight out of 10 in 2007-08. Only six out of 10 people surveyed on the Gold Coast agreed.

A Queensland Police Union spokesman said public perceptions of police were no different to those for other public servants, including politicians. "There's no doubt that in all areas of public service there is increasing cynicism," he said.

Gold Coast district chief Supt Paul Ziebarth told top brass earlier this year that assaults and use of excessive force by officers were continuing concerns but there had been a drop in complaints. Supt Ziebarth said a "lack of practical discipline investigation skills" was holding up reports on bad behaviour so he planned more training.

Ethical Standards Command identified nine officers as being "at risk" and they were given counselling and performance management. One constable was transferred away from a "high risk" location.

Complaints substantiated against police in the Gold Coast district more than doubled, from less than one in every 20 complaints in the second half of 2009 to more than one in 10 a year later.

SOURCE

2011-11-25T12:30:00.001+10:00

Police in the State of Corruption lose one -- and it costs them

Supreme Court rules person is entitled to do runner if not under arrest

A SUPREME Court judge ruled today that a person who is not under arrest is entitled to do a runner from police seeking to question them.

Justice Stephen Kaye said Sydney man Andrew Hamilton was under no obligation to stop and speak to police when they approached him after receiving a complaint over an unpaid restaurant bill.

The judge said that it was an ancient principle of the common law that no one has to stop and speak to police or answer their questions, and there was no legislation in Victoria that alters that right. "The respondent (Mr Hamilton) before being placed under arrest did not have any obligation to stop when requested to do so, or to answer questions asked of him," Justice Kaye said.

The judge dismissed an appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions and made a costs order in favour of Mr Hamilton.

Mr Hamilton had a charge of resisting police thrown out earlier this year after a magistrate found it was not illegal for him to bolt and that he had resisted nothing.

It was alleged he ran from a Taco Bill restaurant in March last year after an argument about an unpaid $136 bill.

Justice Kaye said that in the appeal against the magistrate's decision, the DPP argued that the Crimes Act imposes a duty on a person to state their name and address to an officer if it is believed on reasonable grounds they have committed an offence.

But the judge said it was conceded the police who tried to stop Mr Hamilton never got to the stage of asking for his name and address because he bolted.

"(The Crimes Act) does not contain any provision which expressly empowers police to detain a suspect, or take a suspect into custody, for the purposes of questioning the suspect," Justice Kaye said. "The conferring of such a power on a police officer would be a substantial, and indeed radical, detraction from the fundamental freedoms which have been guaranteed to the citizen by the common law for centuries."

The court heard that when approached by police in Collins St, Mr Hamilton, 24, ran and was chased on foot and in a squad car.

Ignoring police sirens and calls for him to stop, Mr Hamilton - who was later cleared of responsibility for the restaurant bill - was eventually arrested near Flinders St station.

SOURCE

2011-11-23T12:42:00.001+10:00

Gold Coast cop fined over bikie's death

Speeding doesn't deserve the death penalty

A GOLD Coast policeman has been fined more than $13,000 for misconduct relating to the death of a bikie during a high-speed police chase.

Senior-Constable Stephen Chapman was originally fined $400 in February by Police Assistant Commissioner Paul Wilson but the Crime and Misconduct Commission stepped in and lodged an appeal.

Yesterday the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal found the original penalty was "manifestly inadequate" and ordered Sen-Const Chapman to pay the fine off at $128 a week for the next two years.

The misconduct relates to a pursuit involving Craig Robert Shepherd, 26, a member of the Odins Warriors motorcycle gang, who died after his bike hit a rock wall on a tight bend at Beechmont Rd on June 16, 2006. His passenger suffered permanent brain damage when the bike landed on top of her.

A coronial inquest in 2008 found that moments before the crash, Mr Shepherd was being pursued by a police car being driven by Sen-Constable Chapman at speeds of up to 160km/h.

Police Assistant Commissioner Paul Wilson had found Sen-Constable Chapman guilty of being untruthful during follow-up interviews and not complying with policies regard pursuits.

Sen-Constable Chapman, 48, had admitted contravening pursuit policies but contested the untruthfulness charge. He was fined $200 for each breach.

The CMC lodged an appeal with the tribunal on the grounds the penalty was manifestly inadequate and sought Sen Const Chapman's dismissal from the police service.

Sen-Constable Chapman and three other officers on duty the night Mr Shephard died also appealed against Mr Wilson's findings that they were untruthful in interviews by not declaring phone calls made about the incident.

While the officers were cleared of untruthfulness, in their QCAT judgment, Judicial Member James Thomas, QC, and Senior Member Richard Oliver ruled Sen-Constable Chapman's breaches were "serious" and while not serious enough to deserve his dismissal, a $200 fine was manifestly inadequate. Instead, the tribunal ordered Sen-Constable Chapman's pay be cut for two years.

"He had an exemplary record of service prior to the incident, and pleaded guilty to the only charge upon which he has been subsequently found guilty," the judgment found. "Notwithstanding this early plea, he has had the stress of five years' delay before determination.

"Taking into account all these factors, including the need to ensure that the police pursuit policy is respected, and attempting to maintain some consistency, we consider the appropriate sanction is the loss of two pay points for a period of two years."

SOURCE

2011-11-19T10:00:00.003+10:00

Police 'dimwits' cause case collapse

A MAJOR drug case has collapsed after two senior Victorian policemen - described by a judge as "absolute dimwits" - failed to take 20 seconds of their time to legally swear an affidavit or affirm it.

Many fear the decision yesterday by the Director of Public Prosecutions to "discontinue" charges against three defendants facing trial may not be his last.

Since the practice was revealed last month, prosecutors and police have been working to establish how many other pending cases, or possibly past convictions, may be affected by investigators improperly taking out affidavits.

Drug boss Tony Mokbel this week was granted permission to apply to change his guilty pleas, while other trials have been delayed based on the officers' - and many others in the crime department - admission they have never followed the law.

The decision by the DPP, John Champion, SC, followed Judge Jim Montgomery's ruling in October, upheld recently by the state's highest court, to declare an unsworn affidavit invalid.

The County Court judge went on to use his discretion to exclude from the trial the evidence later seized in search warrants based on the affidavit.

Detective Senior Sergeant Stephen McIntyre told Judge Montgomery in pre-trial evidence he had never sworn an affidavit in his 25-year career.

A later "straw poll" of 25 detectives in the department revealed that they have also acted similarly.

In a unanimous decision a week ago, the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by the DPP against Judge Montgomery's rulings.

But the court's three judges noted that they "would not wish it to be thought that the discretion should necessarily be exercised in the same way were the same issues to arise again for consideration in similar circumstances".

After Detective Senior Sergeant McIntyre's evidence, and that of Detective Inspector Glenn Davies - who confirmed conduct identical to his colleague - Judge Montgomery remarked: "We can all come to the conclusion that their state of mind was that they were all absolute dimwits."

SOURCE

2011-11-19T10:00:00.001+10:00

Leaked email reveals S.A. police ordered to meet arrest quota

Appalling. The abuses this could lead to are obvious

POLICE were ordered to meet quotas for the number of arrests, drink driving reports, traffic and drug offences in a five-week period, an internal police email shows.

The Advertiser has obtained the email, from Holden Hill Senior Sergeant Andrew McCracken to patrol officers on July 28, which listed five benchmark categories including the number of fines, reports and arrests each officer must obtain over five weeks.

Officers who did not meet the benchmarks would be required to provide "an explanation" to Sen-Sgt McCracken and their immediate supervisor.

Senior police now say the email's directions were "outside of SAPOL's guidelines and policies" and it had been rescinded.

The five-week targets required each officer to:

MAKE five arrests and reports.

ARREST or report two drink-drivers.

MAKE nine traffic contacts, including on-the-spot fines, using mobile breath tests.

ISSUE one drug-related fine or diversion (for minor illegal drug possession).

The email also said "a minority" of officers at the station had failed to reach the targets during the previous 12 months because they had "coasted" in executing their duty. "It is clear some of you are really great workers and there are some (the minority) that have coasted," the email said. "Those who cannot or choose not to reach these benchmarks will need to provide an explanation to their sergeant and me.

"As stated, though, this is not hard and easily able to be reached and maintained - 99 per cent of you will have no difficulty reaching the standard and blitzing it."

The email was rescinded on August 2 when local police management were advised. Police initially told The Advertiser it was rescinded within 24 hours of being sent.

Opposition police spokesman David Ridgway said the email showed contradictions in the messages coming from SA Police.

"It flies in the face of what we've been told - that there aren't quotas for a whole range of activities. If police are putting these things in emails, then clearly there is a view within SA Police at certain levels that they do have quotas and that's why this person has published that," he said. "It's certainly mixed messages coming out of SA Police."

Mr Ridgway said setting benchmarks or quotas could compromise police duties. "I would've thought it would distract them from making sure they are providing a whole community policing approach when they are having to focus on particular benchmarks," he said.

"If they need a drug bust and they haven't had one, do they forget about every other offence and just go and look for a drug issue? "We have record numbers of police - they should just be out in the community doing the work and there shouldn't be any expectation on the number of pinches they do."

Holden Hill local service area officer-in-charge Superintendent James Blandford said the email was a mistake. "It is important to note the email was sent to operational staff within the Holden Hill LSA only," he said. "The original email was sent by an officer who was relieving in a higher position. The directions given were outside of SAPOL's guidelines and policies.

"As soon as local management became aware of the email, it was rescinded." He said SA Police made no secret of the fact benchmarks were set for traffic contacts but this was in no way linked to revenue. He said almost 30 per cent of traffic contacts ended in a caution. Police would not elaborate on exactly what other areas had set quotas.

"Benchmarks exist across SAPOL for a number policing duties, including responses to emergency calls and requests for police assistance," Supt Blandford said.

Police Association of South Australia president Mark Carroll said any confusion on quotas had to be addressed immediately. "SAPOL management has expressed publicly that it does not have, nor does government expect, booking quotas," he said.

SOURCE

2011-11-16T10:37:00.001+10:00

Stupid Qld. cops think pointing an empty gun at someone is attemped murder

A DISABILITY pensioner who was charged with attempted murder after he pointed an empty gun at a former friend and pulled the trigger, pleaded guilty to the far lesser crime of common assault, today.

Robert John Anforth , 62, spent six months in custody on remand and was to face a trial today of attempting to murder Paul Asher last year.

However, prosecutor Jacob Robson told the Supreme Court in Brisbane, the Crown would no longer proceed with the attempted murder but would present another indictment charging Anforth with common assault.

Attempted murder carries a maximum sentence of life in jail while common assault has a maximum penalty of three years jail.

Mr Robson said after careful anaylsis of the evidence it was apparent the Crown would have difficulty proving Anforth had an intent to kill and it accepted Anforth was trying to scare his victim.

He said the attitude of the victim had also changed and Mr Asher had not wanted the attempted murder trial to go ahead.

After hearing submissions, Justice George Fryberg agreed it was unlikely on the evidence he had seen a reasonable jury would have convicted Anforth of attempted murder.

However, Justice Fryberg said the matter went from police charging Anforth, to magistrates court hearing where Anforth was committed to stand trial on attempted murder, to various reviews where even 10 days ago an attempted murder trial was to go ahead.

Justice Fryberg said it wasn't until Mr Robson was given the brief 10 days ago someone had looked at it and realised the problems with an attempted murder charge.

Anforth pleaded guilty to the common assault on Asher, on July 30 last year.

The court heard Asher had been staying at Anforth's rural property at Minden, west of Ipswich, for about three months but things were strained and Asher was planning to move out.

Asher was loading wood onto a ute at the property when he saw Anforth who pulled a handgun out of his short pointed it at Asher and pulled the trigger. The gun was unloaded at that time.

The court heard Asher took cover and then heard a shot. He started running and heard another shot before fleeing to a nearby shop where he called police.

Mr Robson said the common assault had been the pointing of the unloaded gun at Mr Asher and it was compunded by the actual shots which were not directed at Mr Asher.

Barrister Sea Seaholme, for Anforth, said the Crown always faced problems with proving his client intended to injure Mr Asher and the two later shots had been fired in the air.

Justice Fryberg said it was a serious example of common assault as Anforth had terrorised his victim. But he said after taking into account the time already spent in custody and the guilty plea he would sentence Anforth to a wholly suspended 27 months jail.

SOURCE

2011-11-16T10:07:00.001+10:00

Trigger-happy W.A. cop is REAL scum

And the police union is supporting him!

THE policeman under investigation for firing a warning shot at a car in Nollamara yesterday has been convicted of bashing his wife and is already facing another Internal Affairs Unit probe.

PerthNow can reveal that Niko Westergerling, 39, is under investigation by internal affairs officers amid claims he unlawfully accessed the WA Police database.

The revelation comes just months after the senior constable was convicted and fined $2000 for a brutal attack on his wife during a heated argument at their Innaloo home in February.

Subsequent claims then arose that he had misused the secure police database to access information unrelated to his police work.

Despite the conviction, Sen-Constable Westergerling was allowed to remain in the job.

Sen-Constable Westergerling has been stood aside from duty while internal affairs officers investigate the circumstances surrounding the Nollamara shooting.

It is understood both inquiries - yesterday's shooting and allegations of misusing the police database - will now be conducted simultaneously.

In March, Sen-Constable Westergerling narrowly avoided jail and was fined $2000 after admitting to repeatedly punching and kicking his wife during a heated argument on February 14 while he was off duty.

Defence lawyer Gabrielle Clarke said her client accepted full responsibility for his behaviour, which he had described as "unacceptable and disgusting".

Senior WA police say the officer did not appear to have any valid reason for firing two shots at a black station wagon in Nollamara in the city's northeast early yesterday afternoon.

The car sped off and police have today said there were no reports of injury to any of the five occupants, believed to be three adults, one 17-year-old and a three-year-old. The car was found by police at about 10am today and investigators from the IAU are interviewing two occupants of the vehicle.

Detective Superintendent Tony Flack told reporters the policeman was with two female officers carrying out a routine traffic stop of a driver who was not wearing a seatbelt. He said the driver gave a false name and when the officer asked her to accompany him to a police station, she wound up her window and sped off.

It was then that the officer drew his weapon and fired at the vehicle.

"The Internal Affairs Unit can't find at this time any valid reason for the discharge of this firearm," Det Supt Flack said. "WA Police do not condone the use of firearms to stop motor vehicles." "There are other methods of stopping and detaining motor vehicles and it would not be appropriate and the WA Police do not condone the use of firearms to stop motor vehicles."

Det Supt Flack said criminal charges against the officer were "more than a possibility".

Police are still searching for a second woman who was in the car, but police today revealed there were up to five people in the vehicle at the time of the shooting.

Supt Flack today told reporters the car was stopped because at least one of the passengers was not wearing a seatbelt. The driver then gave police a false name and attempted to flee at high speed.

"The officers had cause to stop a black Holden Zaphina station wagon. We now believe there were up to five persons in that motor vehicle and they pulled this vehicle over for a routine traffic stop. We believe this was for a simple seatbelt offence committed by the driver. "One of the officers who subsequently has been found to have discharged the firearm approached the vehicle, asked the driver for her details. It is believed the driver gave a false name.

"The male officer then did a check on the inboard police computer. It was subsequently found that the name was false and the officer requested the driver accompany him back to Mirrabooka to establish her identity. "The driver has refused this request, wound up the window and driven away. To this point our inquiries establish that the officer has drawn a firearm and discharged the firearm on two occasions.

"It's unknown if the two rounds struck the vehicle or whether they caused any injury to the occupants.

Supt Flack said the senor constable would be confined to administrative duties and stripped of his firearm pending the outcome of the internal investigation. “He will be office-bound and without access to firearms,” Supt Flack said.

He also revealed the officer had recently been disciplined over another case of "poor judgment" but refused to reveal details.

It is believed the latest incident could result in the Police Commissioner having to make a decision on the officer's suitability to remain in the job.

Supt Flack added: "He has a history that is not relevant to this particular incident, but he does have a history that we will assess in its totality, and then we will make a recommendation to the Commissioner of Police about things like judgment, practical intelligence, tolerance to stress."

He also said there was concern about the time it took the officer to notify the Police Operations Centre about the incident. "Our inquiries reveal that they were not immediately notified and this notification's occurred sometime after the event," he said.

"One would expect that there would have been a notification by the officers to POC and one of the things we'll be looking at is why the officers chose to notify their office, rather than getting on the radio. It's a concern to us, they manage operations on the road and we would have expected a radio call to POC."

Initial interviews with the officers indicated the occupants of the vehicle were not hit, however Superintendent Flack said "the potential for serious injury is high" if the two rounds struck the wagon. "That discharge was made in a suburban area, occupied by a number of houses and the potentiality and the danger will be assessed as part of the investigation," he said.

WA Police Union president Russell Armstrong said the union would continue to provide support to Sen-Constable Westergerling. "We will look after the officer and we will continue to support him into the future," he said. Mr Armstrong backed the senior constable saying he was was an experienced officer and he must have had good reason to draw and fire his weapon.

He said it was too early to draw conclusions and he was surprised Supt Flack had indicated so early in the investigation that the discharge of the firearm appeared to be unjustified.

SOURCE

2011-11-15T10:44:00.001+10:00

No reason for cop to shoot

The W.A. cops are notorious goons

SENIOR WA police say there was no obvious reason for a male officer to fire a gun at two women during a traffic stop in Nollamara yesterday. Police said preliminary inquiries have failed to find a justifiable reason for the officer to have fired a weapon during the traffic stop.

Meanwhile the hunt continues for the women at the centre of the police shooting on Flinders Street, Nollamara yesterday afternoon. Aboriginal Legal Service chief Dennis Eggington has urged the two women to come forward to the ALS and tell their side of the story.

WA Police have launched an internal investigation into the actions of the male officer who reportedly opened fire on the two women in a vehicle in Flinders Street. The officer, who was believed to be travelling with two female officers, fired shots at the car at about 1.30pm. It is not yet known if the occupants were injured as they sped away from the scene.

Flinders Street was closed shortly after the shooting and a crime scene has been established at the corner of Quadea Road and Flinders Street. A search is now underway to find the driver and passenger of the vehicle.

Inspector Bill Munnee said he did not know why the officer fired his gun. "I will tell you a full and thorough investigation will be conducted by the Internal Affairs Unit to determine whether the discharge of the firearm was lawful," Insp Munnee said.

The three officers involved in the incident have had their guns seized and are being questioned seperately by internal affairs.

Police believe they know who the two women are but have not been able to locate them. They have spent the afternoon searching addresses linked to the car registration and checking nearby hospitals. The car the women were travelling in has been described as a dark-coloured Holden sedan.

SOURCE

2011-11-13T13:15:00.001+10:00

Suing the NSW stormtroopers again, the lawyer of Middle Eastern appearance

ADAM HOUDA says he's had enough. The Sydney lawyer, who specialises in criminal law, has been wrongfully arrested, detained or questioned by NSW police six times in 11 years. Now he is suing the police - for the third time.

In the latest incident, Mr Houda says he was arrested as he walked along a footpath at about 7pm on September 13 in Woods Road, Yagoona. Police deny he was arrested but admit he was spoken to.

Why was he stopped? "Once again they said I was a suspect in a robbery," Mr Houda told The Sun-Herald. And he has no doubt it was because of his Middle Eastern background. Racism, he said, is alive among some police, particularly in the Bankstown area.

A senior lawyer who knows Mr Houda put it bluntly: "The cops don't like the clients he represents or the community he represents."

Mr Houda said he doesn't know whether he is being deliberately targeted. "I don't know what it is - but what are the chances of it happening six times?"

Mostly, he has been arrested in the street wearing casual clothes, sometimes walking with relatives and friends. Other times he has been going to, or returning from, morning or evening prayers. After one arrest he was subjected to a humiliating body search. Several times arresting police have said they thought he was a suspect in a robbery or that he might have been carrying a knife.

He was arrested by the police for the first time in 2000 at Burwood Local Court after an altercation with an officer inside the courthouse. A Supreme Court judge later awarded Mr Houda $145,000 in damages and described the police treatment of him as "shocking".

In an incident on September 16 last year, Mr Houda and two male relatives were walking in Yagoona, near the Sefton Golf Club, just after 8pm. Two plain-clothes constables were patrolling the area in an unmarked car.

As Burwood Local Court later heard, the two officers earlier that evening had been sent an email from a Detective Senior Constable from Bankstown. It stated in part: "Over the last five days there has been an increase in robbery offences in the Chester Hill area and surrounds."

It then detailed four robberies which involved offenders of Middle Eastern appearance between ages 15 and 20. Two of the offences involved knives. The email concluded by saying: "Any groups of young M.E. males numbering from two to five need to have their bona fides checked."

The court heard that the two constables both said simultaneously "that's them" and stopped Mr Houda and his relatives for the purpose of carrying out a knife search. For Mr Houda, this was the fifth time this had happened.

One of the police, Constable Bernard Underwood, told the court Mr Houda had said in an aggressive tone: "Let me guess, we look like the ones who did it." Constable Underwood said he replied: "Well, actually, you do, mate." Mr Houda was charged with two offences - refusing a frisk search and resisting arrest. His two relatives were also charged.

When the matter came before Burwood Local Court recently, Mr Houda was represented by one of Sydney's leading barristers, Phillip Boulten, SC. The court heard that Mr Houda did not look like any of the offenders and, at 35, was clearly not in the right age bracket. It also heard that one of his relatives had grey in his beard.

In a judgment delivered on October 7 and obtained by The Sun-Herald, the magistrate, Michael John Connell, threw out all the charges against the three men and was critical of the actions of the police. "The officers could not have had a reasonable suspicion that the three men were suspects in any of the robberies," he said.

Constable Underwood and a colleague had a "limited knowledge" and a "vague" understanding of the relevant legislation and had exceeded their powers. "When the police act, it is important that they do so in accordance with that legislation," the magistrate said. "Unfortunately, in this case, this did not happen."

Mr Connell said: "At the end of the day, here were three men of Middle Eastern appearance walking along a suburban street, for all the police knew, minding their own business at an unexceptional time of day, in unexceptional clothing, except two of the men had hooded jumpers.

"The place they were in could not have raised a reasonable suspicion they were involved in the robberies, given the distance from them. "There was just as high a probability that the men had done nothing wrong and, more importantly, were not carrying a knife or knives."

That matter, and the latest incident on September 13, form the basis of his coming lawsuit. (The second lawsuit was settled on a confidential basis.)

Mr Houda said on Friday he wanted to put a spotlight on what was happening to him and other members of the Middle Eastern community to try to stop it from taking place.

SOURCE

2011-11-10T10:24:00.000+10:00

Top NSW cops in drug cloud

A FORMER superintendent and two other high-ranking cops are among a number of serving and retired police officers under investigation for drug use and supply.

A NSW Police Integrity Commission investigation, codenamed Operation Ischia, is now under way following revelations three senior officers were suspended for failing drug tests after an unofficial police function in Paddington in August. They returned positive tests for illicit substances, including cocaine.

The officers, two holding the rank of inspector, and an Australian Federal Police officer, remain on suspension while investigations continue. A former superintendent of police is also under a cloud of suspicion.

As private hearings began late last month at PIC headquarters in Sydney, the drug inquiry was also widened to include events under- stood to have taken place in Queensland.

In terms of reference spelled out in the commission's annual report, tabled to state parliament late on Tuesday, Operation Ischia is also examining allegations relating to the "release of confidential police information and issues relating to the NSWPF medical discharge system".

Ischia has called on its Queensland counterparts to assist in examining claims illegal activity occurred north of Tweed Heads.

"Forming part of this investigation was a joint agency agreement with the Queensland Crime and Misconduct Commission relating to a number of suspected offences taking place in Queensland," the report states.

A PIC spokeswoman confirmed private hearings were under way but would not say whether they would be followed by public ones.

The NSW Police Force can randomly test officers for drugs but targeted tests are less common and are usually based on intelligence received.

Cases of officers recalled to duty to specifically undergo tests are believed to be rare.

The AFP officer was formerly a NSW police officer, but is now a sky marshal, or air security officer. Such AFP officers are armed and travel incognito on domestic and international flights to deal with violence - including terror attacks.

Earlier this year, Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione condemned drug taking in the police force. "If you take recreational drugs there is no place for you in the NSW Police Force," Mr Scipione said.

SOURCE

2011-11-09T11:12:00.001+10:00

Police inspector stood down over leaving can of dog food on desk

The very idea that revelations of police misbehaviour are wrong is deeply offensive to the community

A CAN of dog food has landed a police inspector in hot water after allegations of inappropriate office behaviour.

The inspector from the Ethical Standards Command allegedly had a disagreement with a co-worker and afterwards left a can of dog food on the person's desk as an insult.

The 44-year-old inspector has been stood down from his position and reassigned to a non-operational area at Police Headquarters until an investigation into his alleged behaviour wraps up.

Queensland Police released a statement saying they expect all officers to perform their duties ethically and professionally.

Calling someone a dog is said to be the worst thing a police officer can call a co-worker because it means they are a snitch or have “dobbed” on them for doing something.

SOURCE

2011-10-27T11:52:00.001+10:00

NSW cop pleads guilty to extortion

Why can't they name this scum? What has he done to deserve protection?

A SYDNEY policeman has pleaded guilty to extorting tens of thousands of dollars from tobacconists and lying to the NSW police watchdog. The disgraced detective, code named LP2, pleaded guilty today in Sydney's Downing Centre District Court.

Justice Andrew Haesler granted an application by his counsel to suppress his name because of fears of retributory attacks in jail once he is sentenced. The former detective has been on bail since 2009, but he is expected to be taken into custody some time today.

He and his co-accused, LP1, who is already serving a jail term, were involved in a number of corrupt practices dating back to 2008. They received money from tobacconists and also stole thousands of dollars worth of tobacco leaf.

LP2 pleaded guilty to six charges on the indictment and made admissions of guilt on 10 other charges, which will be considered during today's sentencing proceedings.

The charges include a raft of illegal possession offences at the time of LP2's arrest in January 2009. Police seized ammunition, an illegal baton, a butterfly knife and a handgun.

LP2 also admitted to giving false evidence to the NSW Police Integrity Commission (PIC) and attempting to influence a witness before they gave evidence to the PIC.

In April 2011, he was found to have made a false statement while applying for a passport, the court documents show.

SOURCE

2011-10-26T20:33:00.004+10:00

An amusing -- but revealing -- defeat for the Queensland wallopers

On Sept. 15 I reported on the case of Eaves v. Donnelly in which Renee Eaves was awarded the sum of $93,000 against ex-cop Barry John Donnelly and the State of Queensland.

One would have thought that the Queensland Police Service would have been deeply embarrassed to find that a private prosecution was needed to establish the culpability of one of their officers after they had proclaimed that he had no case to answer.

Had there been any decency at the top one would have thought that prompt payment of the award accompanied by profuse apologies to Ms Eaves would be the order of the day.

Their actual response however established what low types run the Qld. cops. They say that fish rot from the head and it seems that the Qld cops are still in that category. The Fitzgerald enquiry put the Qld. police chief in jail so rottenness at the top is a reasonable expectation in Qld.

And that expectation would seem to be borne out in the Eaves vs. Donnelly matter. Instead of showing any contrition, the police decided to appeal the verdict. The scathing comments about them from Judge Samios were apparently like water off a duck's back. And that decision to appeal can only have come from somewhere close to the top if not the top itself.

But here's the amusing part: Their grounds for appeal were so weak that they had to back out of the appeal. They went to the Court of Appeal (a division of the Qld Supreme Court) but the court either point blank refused to hear them or they were quietly advised that they had no case.

What scum!

Needless to say, Renee is feeling in a very good mood at the moment after the failure of the appeal (though she still hasn't got the money) so she sent me some pix:

Renee's comment on the Pic above: "The boy's club army all to sort out one lil blonde single mum....... Chickens ... but expensive ones for the taxpayers. Sherman Oh is the Asian one and Mark Hinson the senior counsel is front right"

Renee in a place she now rather likes

A meditation

The amount the cops must have spent on legal services in the matter rather boggles the mind. It would have been MUCH cheaper for the taxpayer if they had settled out of court. But to do that would have required at least an implicit admission of fault and they were clearly not adult enough for that.

2011-10-25T12:15:00.003+10:00

A letter to the Qld. CMC

Sent to me for publication by the author

I wish to submit a complaint about police officer Jamie Hurley, who also goes by the name of Jamie Joseph. Issues include:

• Using police computers to access private information about me without cause

• Using police computers to access legal information and publishing same on facebook

• Using the heroic death of a police officer as an excuse to get stress leave so that he could pursue an acting career

• Taking place in a film whilst on duty (Alien Sons, filmed in Jacobs Well)

• Attending acting classes with me and a certain movie producer and performing other personal errands whilst on duty and in uniform

• Leaving his police weapon on the coffee table with a civilian whilst he went up to his car – can describe it as a Colt, also displaying it to my father

• Using a police vehicle for private purposes, and taking photos of actors in the back of his police vehicle (details enclosed)

• Earning an income as an actor whilst on stress leave

• Displaying and discharging a taser on a civilian to display it’s effect whilst they were visiting his home (kept in police safe, was removed in my presence)

• Bringing a confiscated weapon (knife) to a film set, being photographed/filmed with it and later giving same to one of the crew – can offer it back as evidence

• Acting as a safety officer on film set whilst on duty (Alien Sons)

• Discharging his weapon without cause to “display it’s power” at Jacobs Well

• Using his badge to remove children from an area of a park to make space for filming even though he was off duty and there was no legal right for the crew to have the park to themselves

I realise that bringing an accusation against a police officer usually just results in even more harassment and no action, as he so succinctly pointed out himself, but a line has to be drawn somewhere, and I have had enough of a bad police officer abusing his privilege and making my life hell in the middle of it all.

2011-10-15T12:50:00.002+10:00

Senior NSW cop who led the coverup of an unwarranted police killing should be fired

Detective Inspector Russell Oxford is a crook and a liar

THE NSW Police Force is under mounting pressure to take disciplinary action against one of its most senior homicide detectives, and to reassess how officers are trained to deal with mentally disturbed people, after the coroner slammed the police response to the shooting death of Adam Salter.

Nearly two years after police claimed Mr Salter, 36, was shot in the kitchen of his Lakemba home because he was threatening police with a knife, a Deputy Coroner, Scott Mitchell, set the official record straight yesterday, finding that it was likely that he posed a threat only to himself.

Mr Mitchell described the entire police response as an "utter failure" and said that there was "real doubt" that the shooting was justified.
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He said it was likely that Sergeant Sheree Bissett, who called "Taser, Taser, Taser" before shooting Mr Salter in the back, had intended to use her Taser but mistakenly chose her Glock pistol instead.

Sergeant Bissett's explanation that these were "the words that just came out of my mouth" was "no explanation at all".

"There is very strong evidence that her description of the risk posed by Adam Salter is exaggerated, real doubt as to whether she gave any consideration to an appropriate means of dealing with Adam Salter, real doubt as to whether shooting him was justified and whether a less drastic means of appropriately dealing with him was not available," Mr Mitchell said.

Sergeant Bissett's apparent mistake was the last in a string of serious errors in the immediate police response, including failing to remove the knife Adam Salter had used to harm himself and the decision to leave him "in the care of a young and inexperienced and … unresponsive officer" - probationary constable Aaron Abela.

Mr Mitchell slammed the police's critical incident investigation, led by Detective Inspector Russell Oxford from the homicide squad, describing it as "seriously flawed".

He said the recorded walk-through interview Detective Inspector Oxford conducted with Sergeant Bissett was a "failure and a disgrace" and that the high profile officer "gravely misrepresented the truth" in claiming that the evidence of the ambulance officers involved was consistent with that of police.

"As an exercise in the type of scrupulous impartiality, rigour and balance advocated in the critical incident guidelines, it fell far below an acceptable standard, " he said.

Although Mr Mitchell elected not to recommend Detective Inspector Oxford and the others involved in misrepresenting the shooting to the Police Integrity Commission, Mr Salter's father, Adrian, said yesterday it was likely the family would refer the matter themselves.

They are also considering a range of other options including civil action. "I do believe that the people involved should be held to account for it - for the misrepresentations that were made," Mr Salter said.

When asked whether action would be taken against any of the officers involved or new training introduced, a spokesman said: "The NSW Police Force notes the findings of the NSW Coroner's Court … NSWPF will review the judgment before making any further comment."

SOURCE

2011-10-15T12:32:00.000+10:00

Coverup attempt by NSW police killers

Panicky dickless Tracy the killer. Female police should not be deployed into volatile situations while armed

POLICE killed a man they were supposed to be helping, then carried out an inadequate and flawed investigation "to avoid embarrassment" to the force and officers involved, a Coroner said today.

In a scathing assessment yesterday, Deputy State Coroner Scott Mitchell said Adam Salter's death was likely a horrible accident, a police officer choosing her gun instead of her taser in a fatal mix-up.

But describing the police response as an "utter failure", Mr Mitchell said the report into the critical incident written by Homicide Squad Detective Inspector Russell Oxford was "seriously flawed".

Salter was shot and killed in the kitchen of his Lakemba home in November 2009 after police responded to a call that the 36-year-old was stabbing himself with a knife.

The shooter, Sergeant Sheree Bissett, and other police claimed that Salter was threatening another officer with a knife and that lethal force was her only option. But Mr Mitchell said the evidence indicated to him that Salter's only threat was to himself - not any of the officers present.

During the inquest, Mr Mitchell was told Sgt Bissett had shouted "taser, taser, taser" before firing her gun. "There is a very strong flavour of confusion and mistake and, given (that taser) cry ... I think it is more likely than not that Sergeant Bissett mistakenly chose her Glock, having intended to employ her Taser," he said.

The shooting, he said, was swift and without just cause. "Without any proper warning or even challenge, Sgt. Bissett fired the fatal shot ... apparently without taking time for any thoughtful consideration of the alternatives on offer," he said.

Mr Mitchell went on to slam the investigation into the incident, saying at least two officers failed to take notes and another admitted his were "most inadequate". "To talk about if formal recognition of their actions in the performance of their duties is ridiculous," he said.

"And all this was followed by an inadequate and apparently prejudiced Critical Incident Investigation, chiefly directed, as far as I can tell, to avoid embarrassment to Police."

Mr Mitchell declined to refer the case to the DPP for charges, make recommendations nor send it to the Police Integrity Commission for further investigation. However he suggested Salter's family "may be advised" to do the latter.

Outside the court, Adrian Salter said they were still considering whether or not they would pursue the matter with the PIC. "What's important to us is that Adam's life was taken unexpectedly, tragically and unnecessarily," he told reporters.

"I think that what happened was a tragic mistake and wouldn't have happened had the police not been carrying guns."

SOURCE

2011-10-13T10:15:00.001+10:00

Queensland Police crime figures flawed and unreliable, say criminologists

QUEENSLAND Police keep two sets of books on crime - only one of which they release to the public. The other they keep to themselves.

Queenslanders get district and regional figures, which criminologists say cannot be used to measure crime accurately because the reporting method is flawed and unreliable.

By contrast, residents in NSW can access crime statistics by suburb, collected by an independent body and published online.

Since 2006, the QPS has made 41 changes to police district boundaries, making "apples to apples" comparisons impossible.

In 2009 the Gold Coast police district shrank from 1140sq km to 374sq km after the QPS created a 3004sq km Coomera police district. Crimes figures for several Gold Coast crime categories declined as a result.

Police Minister Neil Roberts told The Courier-Mail that police had provided him with recent crime statistics on Gold Coast crime based on the old district boundaries but the QPS has declined to provide these to The Courier-Mail.

The minister's office has yet to respond to a request to supply this data.

Police also record "divisional" figures on a consistent basis but they are kept secret.

On the Gold Coast, divisional figures are collected for Coolangatta, Palm Beach, Broadbeach, Surfers Paradise, Southport, Runaway Bay, Mudgeeraba, Nerang, Coomera and Robina.

With the exception of Robina, boundaries for those areas had not changed during the past decade, a senior police source told The Courier-Mail.

The QPS said it could not release the divisional statistics because they had not been "verified" by their statistics unit. "We don't do anything further down than the districts," a spokeswoman said.

The QPS told The Courier-Mail it would have to make an application under Right To Information laws to see the divisional statistics, which also are routinely denied to academics.

"You have to go through a research committee and they are likely to refuse you," said leading criminologist Paul Wilson of Bond University, adding he knew of no researcher accessing the data.

Professor Wilson said of the police figures: "You can't get any consistent trends over time. They are quite inadequate."

A QPS spokeswoman said the geographic boundaries were "operational police boundaries and as such are amended over time to meet operational needs" such as when new housing estates were created.

LNP police spokesman John-Paul Langbroek said he had never been provided the divisional crime figures for the Gold Coast district he represents.

SOURCE

2011-10-08T19:56:00.002+10:00

Investigation of NSW police killing a 'disgraceful whitewash'

Another dickless Tracy panics and somebody is needlessly shot -- so a big coverup ensues. A previous dickless Tracy was responsible for This. Female police are too nervous to be entrusted with firearms

An internal police investigation into the death of a mentally ill man who was shot at close range by an experienced sergeant has been branded a "disgraceful whitewash" by lawyers for the victim's family.

Adam Salter, 36, was shot dead by police as he stabbed himself with a knife at his father's Lakemba home on November 18, 2009.

A critical incident investigation into the shooting, carried out by homicide officer Detective Inspector Russell Oxford, absolved of blame the officer who pulled the trigger, Sergeant Sheree Bissett.

But lawyers for the Salter family have told an inquest into the death that the investigation was biased and should be reviewed by the Police Integrity Commission (PIC).

"The critical incident investigation started as a disgraceful whitewash ... and ended in the same way," Stephen Rushton, SC, told the inquest on Friday. He said Detective Inspector Oxford's report into the death was "unbalanced, partial and ... false and misleading".

Detective Inspector Oxford was also accused of asking leading questions of Sergeant Bissett, an officer of 22 years' experience, during a walk-through reconstruction of the shooting. Mr Rushton added: "It highlights, in my respectful submission, the problems where police investigate police."

Counsel assisting the coroner Chris Lonergan told the inquest he did not believe that Mr Salter, who had a history of depression, psychosis and schizophrenia, should have been shot.

The inquest has previously heard that Mr Salter was on the floor of his father's kitchen when he suddenly got to his feet, grabbed a knife from a sink and began stabbing himself in the throat.

Sergeant Bissett shouted a warning that she was discharging her Taser stun gun, but instead fired her pistol.

Detective Inspector Oxford's report into the incident said Sergeant Bissett's use of her gun was justified, the inquest heard.

"Was the discharge of the police pistol appropriate?" Mr Lonergan asked." "The answer is, in short, no, it was not appropriate."

"In those circumstances it is, to say the least, unfortunate and regrettable that the situation that presented itself to Sergeant Bissett did not call for her to consider other alternatives such as capsicum spray or another method."

Mr Lonergan said firing the gun in those circumstances was not in line with police protocols.

Mr Rushton asked Deputy Coroner Scott Mitchell to refer the investigation into Mr Salter's death to the PIC. The Salter family was also seeking an apology from the police, he added. But it is not seeking a referral of the case to the Department of Public Prosecutions.

The death of Mr Salter was a "tragic and wholly unnecessary loss", Mr Rushton added.

Sergeant Bissett believed there was an "immediate, dire risk" to those present in the kitchen when she shot Adam Salter, her lawyer Les Nicholls told the inquest. The law provided for Sergeant Bissett to fire her gun if she was concerned about the safety of herself or others - even if in hindsight that proved not to be the case, Mr Nicholls said.

"There was a very limited period of time that existed between Adam Salter getting up off the floor and the discharge of the firearm," he said. "This was a very unexpected event, described quite rightly as chaotic."

Mr Salter grabbing the knife amounted to a violent act in a confined space, Mr Nicholls said. "There was an imminent and dire risk to those present."

Deputy State Coroner Scott Mitchell adjourned the inquest until next Friday, when he will deliver his findings.

SOURCE

2011-10-06T11:18:00.001+10:00

CCTV catches out South Australian police too

Once again it took newspaper coverage to bring it to light

JENNIFER Lee Ruppelt is an 18-year-old country girl who claims she was strangled by police and passed out during an aggressive arrest. But police say they are the victims of an assault by Ruppelt who hit out at them and gave one officer facial injuries.

The matter caused commotion in the Barossa Valley town of Tanunda yesterday when Ruppelt appeared in the local Magistrates Court on charges of disorderly behaviour and assaulting police.

Ruppelt, of Nuriootpa, denies the allegation she purposely struck police in an incident in May and will now stand trial. Community members yelled support for the teenager as she left the courthouse.

Michael Lloyd, for Ruppelt, said yesterday any physical abuse from his client toward police had been unintentional and the charges would be vigorously defended. "If there was any contact it was the result of excessive manhandling by a police officer," he said.

Mr Lloyd said his client claimed both the arrest and a later incident at the Nuriootpa Police Station were aggressive. He said after a scuffle at the station's charge counter, Ruppelt was assaulted. "(Ruppelt) suggests at that stage she was strangled by a police officer and blacked out."

CCTV footage from the police station leaked to The Advertiser shows Ruppelt being pushed against the charge counter by a male officer while her arms are pinned. At one stage Ruppelt's shoulder and body are forced against the counter while an officer puts his right arm to her neck. The same officer also kicks her legs apart. The alleged strangling is not seen on the footage.

A spokeswoman for SA Police said the incident was being investigated. "A report will be forwarded to the Police Complaints Authority for assessment," a statement said.

Police allege they attended Ruppelt's flat on May 3 where they observed her behaving in a disorderly manner.

Mr Lloyd said Ruppelt also contests that allegation and said she may have shouted the word "f..k" several times but that should not be considered "disorderly".

Magistrate Terry Forrest remanded Ruppelt on continuing bail to appear at trial in May next year.

SOURCE

2011-10-06T11:09:00.002+10:00

CCTV captures cop kicking woman inside Victorian police station

And the scum at the top are investigating it now only because a newspaper covered it. Victoria police stink to high Heaven. And what was she arrested for in the first place? She was never charged in court with anything she did prior to her arrest

POLICE have launch an internal probe after the Herald Sun revealed CCTV footage showing an officer kicking a female prisoner. Closed-circuit TV footage has captured a policeman kicking a woman inside a police cell before she is abandoned in pain from capsicum spray, the Herald Sun reports.

This morning Police Command confirmed its Ethical Standards Division would now conduct an investigation into the incident.

The footage was captured inside Victoria's Dandenong police station. It came to light only after it was given to the woman in a recent court case.

The woman, who has been diagnosed with a psychiatric condition, has told the Herald Sun she was humiliated and planned to complain to the Office of Police Integrity.

Acting assistant commissioner Derek Lamb told Neil Mitchell on 3AW radio this morning that police would now act. "It will be investigated by our Ethical Standards Department," Mr Lamb said. "That was decided this morning." Mr Lamb said police had not acted before as the woman had not previously complained.

"There was no complaint made, this woman didn’t make a complaint . . . had she chosen to make a complaint, then that would have been investigated at the time," he said.

Senior police yesterday defended the officer's actions. A sergeant had "pushed" her back into the cell with his foot, which was "reasonable in the circumstances". This was because the sergeant was acting in fear. [What a poor baby: Scared of a woman!]

"It doesn't appear to be a kick to me ... " Mr Lamb said yesterday. "I don't believe it's a kick. He says just that, it was about getting space. It's simply designed to push her back in and that's exactly what they're taught."

It's a position reinforced by the police union today. Police Association secretary Greg Davies said the officer did what he was trained to do. "That's something operational members are trained to do, put distance between them and an individual so that neither they nor the individual end up being physically assaulted," Sen-Sgt Davies said.

He said he was comfortable with the current use of force training. "Creating space between a police officer and someone who that police officer (feels is) violent ... is a far better practice than going back to the 1980s where people got belted with a bat at the first sign of aggression," Sen-Sgt Davies said.

"We don't particularly want to have people sustaining severe or lasting physical injuries and if putting distance between them or using capsicum spray is the way that that's done then that can only be seen as a benefit and, I might add, something that various community legal services have been calling on for years."

Police action unjustified - lawyer

Lawyer Sam Norton, of Robert Stary Lawyers, said his client had been treated appallingly. Two angles of the CCTV footage show the woman calling out to police and gesturing that she would strangle herself before they open the cell door.

There is pushing and shoving before an argument at the door. She tries to walk out of the cell and is sprayed and kicked. A female officer involved in the incident can be seen smiling as the officers walk away.

An officer can be seen hosing down the outside of the door to stop fumes affecting them.

The woman rubs her burning eyes and appears to struggle for breath for 16 minutes before the officer returns with a towel and leads her to a sink to provide after-care, contravening regulations.

"The actions of the officers were completely unjustified," Mr Norton said. "In the immediate time after he sprays her he is hosing the outside of the door so they won't be affected. "Meanwhile, she is screaming out in pain.

"I believe they then charge her because they realised they have overstepped the mark."

A charge of assault was withdrawn at court and she pleaded guilty to a charge of "act in a manner prejudicial to the good order of a jail cell". It was proved and dismissed without conviction.

The incident happened a year before the death of Chinese national Gong Ling Tang, 53, who died on May 13 last year. Mr Tang was dumped in a puddle outside the station on a wet and cold night and an ambulance was called. It is believed he died of hypothermia.

The Herald Sun has been refused under Freedom of Information from obtaining the footage. A Coronial inquest is yet to be held on Mr Tang's death.

Homicide detectives have completed a brief of evidence, but no charges have been laid against any of the officers, many of whom have been moved to other stations. One of the officers is believed to have sat in a heated police van as he watched Mr Tang on the ground.

SOURCE

2011-10-04T11:22:00.002+10:00

Dumb NSW cops shoot the victim of a home invasion

''SHIT, I shot him.'' These are the words Justin McMaster's family claim they heard a police officer say after he fired his weapon at the 19-year-old standing just metres away.

Seconds before, the male officer's partner had lowered her Taser away from Mr McMaster's chest after his mother and sister had yelled out he was their son and brother, they said.

''I noticed her with the Taser and him with the gun and I said: 'He's my son','' Mr McMaster's mother, Georgia Karakizos, said. ''The Taser was on him for a little bit because I could see the red lights [reflected on his torso],'' his sister, Kayla McMaster, said.

The family is considering legal action against the NSW Police Force over last Monday's shooting, which they said occurred after three armed and violent robbers entered their yard and home in Colyton, western Sydney, assaulted Ms Karakizos and her partner, Paul Sciberras, and threatened to rape Kayla, 17.

Police say they are investigating all aspects of the home invasion, including all witnesses and all evidence.

''The police investigation into the home invasion is an active investigation and as such it would be inappropriate to comment further,'' a spokesman said last night.

Police initially said they arrived at the Holmes Street property following reports of an armed break-in, but later said they had been responding to concerns a woman was being threatened with a knife.

Mr McMaster, who remains in the surgical unit at Westmead Hospital recovering from the bullet wound in his abdomen, says he was carrying a length of metal from aluminium blinds to protect his sister, Kayla. He denies that he was ever carrying a knife.

Kayla told the Herald that following the assault of her mother and stepfather, one of the robbers put a knife to her throat and demanded she help find them money. She said he threatened the life of her 15-month-old brother, Dayne, if she tried to run away.

Shortly after, the intruder used the knife to force her to partly undress and said he would rape and stab her, Kayla said.

Her brother Justin ran out of the house to help her shortly after two police officers arrived outside the house and two of the robbers fled, she said.

''Justin ran out and he's screaming: 'Where's my sister? Where's my sister?,'' Kayla said. The female officer drew her Taser and the male his gun, she said.

While an internal police investigation is under way into the shooting of Mr McMaster, the family claims inquiries into the robbery, alleged assaults and threat of rape seem to have a lower priority. They said they have not been offered counselling or assistance, nor have they been updated on the investigation.

''They're saving their own arses,'' Kayla said. ''He [the police officer] gets counselling.''

The family's lawyer, Greg Walsh, said Kayla at least should have been taken to hospital. ''I'm shocked at the way these people have been treated,'' he said. ''It's a disgrace.''

Source

2011-10-02T09:39:00.002+10:00

Police charged with assault of rich man

ONE of South Australia's richest men has alleged he was assaulted by a police officer during a routine traffic stop.

In a case that has far-reaching implications for all police officers, Constable Norman Hoy will stand trial charged with the aggravated assault of Yasser Shahin - the head of the multi-million dollar On-The-Run fuel and cigarette empire.

The case is being closely watched by police who fear the outcome will affect their daily conduct, with many questioning why the officer is facing a criminal charge.

Sources said the incident occurred on Saturday, September 18 last year, when Constable Hoy and his partner stopped Mr Shahin in the CBD when he was driving his 2008 Rolls-Royce, accompanied by his wife, infant child and mother-in-law. The officers noticed Mr Shahin's vehicle had heavily tinted windows, which they suspected might have been darker than allowed under the Road Traffic Act.

Mr Shahin was pulled over in Grenfell St about 10.30am.

While Constable Hoy was talking to Mr Shahin, 36, on the footpath, Mr Shahin allegedly became agitated and argumentative when told the tinting would be tested using a meter kept in the patrol car.

The prosecution will allege there was physical contact between Mr Shahin and Constable Hoy when the officer allegedly tried to prevent Mr Shahin from re-entering his Rolls-Royce - previously owned by his father, Fred, who died in 2009. Constable Hoy then tested the tinting on the vehicle and found it was illegal under road rules. Car windows must allow at least 35 per cent of transmittable light - the tinting on Mr Shahin's front windscreen allowed 14 per cent and the rear windscreen just 7 per cent. Mr Shahin was issued with a defect notice, which described the breach as a "major defect", and told he had an hour to get the car off the road, driving it to his home in Burnside.

He was advised the tinting would have to be changed to the legal limit after which the defect notice would be removed at the Regency Park vehicle inspection centre. Mr Shahin could also have been given a $313 on-the-spot fine, but Constable Hoy elected to give him a warning only.

Shortly after the traffic incident, Mr Shahin engaged prominent Adelaide barrister Michael Abbott, QC, and a complaint was made to the Police Complaints Authority concerning the alleged conduct of Constable Hoy.

Senior police launched a Professional Standards investigation and Constable Hoy was interviewed on November 10. He was charged on August 1 this year with one count of aggravated assault. He will appear in court on Tuesday to face the charge.

While such charges are usually dealt with in the Magistrates Court, his lawyers have elected to have the matter heard before a jury in the District Court.

Constable Hoy's lawyer, Tindall Gask Bentley managing partner Morry Bailes, told the Sunday Mail "police would undoubtedly be concerned if Mr Hoy were convicted. "As he will tell it, he was only doing his job."

Police Association president Mark Carroll said the association was concerned the matter was before the courts. "Our understanding is the prosecution is proceeding only because of a recommendation by the Director of Public Prosecutions," he said.

"It has had a negative impact on the member and his family and the association is supporting him in his legal defence. He was acting in the execution of his duties and it is disturbing a charge of this nature has been laid."

Mr Shahin declined to comment yesterday because the matter is before the court.

Source

2011-10-01T15:16:00.003+10:00

Police misrepresented shooting, court told

A SERIES of official reports produced after the police shooting of Adam Salter falsely stated the mentally disturbed man had been told by police to drop the knife he was holding before he was shot, leading to accusations in the NSW Coroners Court of a ''monumental police cover-up''.

As evidence was played yesterday from the police officer who shot Mr Salter in November 2009 after shouting ''taser, taser, taser'', the court heard that police had misrepresented the events to the public and their own senior command.

The initial situation report prepared by Campsie police, and a situation report prepared for senior command including the Police Commissioner, Andrew Scipione, falsely stated that before Mr Salter was shot police asked him to drop the knife he was holding.

At least one of the reports stated he had then come at police with the knife.

The acting Assistant Police Commissioner, Stuart Wilkins, told a media conference that day Mr Salter had ''confronted'' police.

The lawyer representing Adam Salter's family at the inquest, Stephen Rushton, suggested to the author of one of the reports - Detective Inspector Russell Oxford, of the NSW homicide squad - that a section of it was ''complete nonsense'' and part of a ''gross police cover-up''.

That section of the report included a claim police assisted ambulance officers to restrain Mr Salter. Detective Inspector Oxford denied there was a cover-up. He said the false section of his report had been ''cut and pasted'' from an earlier false report.

The inquest also heard that NSW Police's critical incident investigation, also led by Detective Inspector Oxford, had found that all police officers involved had acted appropriately.

Sergeant Sheree Bissett had acted according to police protocols when she shot the disturbed, bleeding man, because she believed the life of another officer, Constable Aaron Abela, had been in danger.

In a video walk-through interview that formed part of the critical incident investigation, Sergeant Bissett said: ''When he turned, I thought he was going to stab him and kill him.'' ''So, I've just drawn my gun and gone 'taser, taser, taser' and he turned … and so I shot him here [in the back near the shoulder].''

When questioned over her call of ''taser'', Sergeant Bissett said ''it was just the words that came out of my mouth''.

The inquest heard that Detective Inspector Oxford and the NSW Police Professional Standards Command accepted the evidence of the police officers involved in the shooting. They effectively disregarded the evidence of three ambulance officers and Mr Salter's father, all of whom said Mr Salter did not represent a danger to anyone other than himself when he was shot.

Deputy state coroner Scott Mitchell asked why none of the paramedics had been asked to do a walk-through interview. ''I don't understand why the police evidence has been accepted almost completely, while that of the paramedics has been so undervalued.''

Detective Stephen Tedder from the Professional Standards Command - which gave the police actions and the investigation into them a clean bill of health - said critical incident investigations always focused on the actions of police, not ''civilians''.

Speaking outside court, Mr Salter's father said: ''We're confident that the circumstances surrounding Adam's death have been thoroughly explored.''

Source

2011-09-28T10:51:00.000+10:00

NSW Police Integrity Commission has no integrity

Trying to cover up a report on its 'bias'

A DAMNING report accusing the Police Integrity Commission of bias has been blocked after the watchdog lobbied to stop it being tabled in parliament. For the first time, state parliament has refused to make public the annual report of the Inspector of the PIC, Peter Moss QC.

The commission, which acts as the state watchdog for the police and the NSW Crime Commission, wrote to parliamentary officers urging them not to table it.

Mr Moss, who oversees the PIC, is furious, claiming the "blatant" interference will shake public confidence in the secretive commission. "I am, of course, aghast at this blatant and behind-the-scenes interference by the PIC to prevent publication of my annual report," he wrote in a letter to a former police officer.

Speaker Shelley Hancock and president of the legislative council Don Harwin have asked for advice from the Crown Solicitor's office after PIC acting commissioner Jerrold Cripps told them Mr Moss's report was "unlawful".

The PIC is protected by the same statutory powers covering all judicial officers which protects it from being sued.

Legal experts believe a finding that it had been biased may open the floodgates for civil claims against it by people it has investigated.

Earlier this year, the NSW Police Association passed a vote of no confidence in the PIC after a run of 13 scathing reports by Mr Moss highlighted what he said was unfairness in the PIC hearings.

His latest annual report contains the finding that the PIC showed bias against three police it investigated, to the point of omitting critical evidence supporting the officers' version of events from its final report, called operation Whistler. As part of that operation, the PIC investigated allegations a self-confessed drunken man, arrested while running naked on a street, was assaulted while being arrested.

Mr Moss found the man never complained of an assault. He was allowed to give his evidence in private, without being questioned by lawyers for the police, and the officers were never told what evidence the man had given.

"The (PIC) report was not only biased and unfair in respect of each of the police who gave evidence but was in many respects unreliable and inconsistent and indeed incomprehensible," Mr Moss said in his report.

He wrote that his annual report was delivered to Parliament on Friday, but "for the first time ever" they declined his recommendation to make the report public.

"Without informing me, the PIC wrote to certain officers of the parliament opposing my report being made public on the basis that it contained my report upholding (many) complaints, and that the PIC did not accept (it)," he wrote.

"I have since then been provided with a copy of the certain letters written by the PIC which appear to have brought about this situation. I am currently prevented from distributing my annual report."

Instead, the PIC told parliament it would present its own "special report" which should be read first.

Mr Harwin said he and Ms Hancock would make a decision on tabling Mr Moss's report after legal advice.

A spokesman for Premier Barry O'Farrell said it would be inappropriate for the government to intervene in decisions on tabling reports. [WHY?]

A spokesman for the PIC refused to comment last night.

SOURCE

2011-09-16T12:50:00.000+10:00

Constable Barry John Donnelly and State of Queensland to pay Renee Eaves, 35, damages for harrassment, intimidation

A QUEENSLAND traffic policeman and the State Government have been ordered to the pay a former model $93,000 in damages for harassment and intimidation more than five years ago.

Brisbane District Court judge Nick Samios ordered Constable Barry John Donnelly and the State of Queensland pay Renee Terri Eaves, 35, damages after she was arrested and falsely imprisoned amid allegations she drove while disqualified on March 16, 2009.

Judge Samios, in a 21-page written judgment, said he accepted Constable Donnelly demonstrated he "did not like'' Ms Eaves, then more than four months pregnant, when he led her away in handcuffs past fellow residents at her Vernon Tce apartments at Teneriffe.

Ms Eaves was seeking $200,000 in damages after she claimed Constable Donnelly arrested her despite her protestations that her partner had driven from the Royal Brisbane Hospital -- where she was treated for pregnancy-related nausea.

She claimed Constable Donnelly took her to the Brisbane Watchhouse and that she was denied medication or a container to vomit in and was abused by another female prisoner for being sick in the cell.

Ms Eaves, in her statement, alleged that before the arrest Constable Donelly had regularly parked outside her unit and called her intercom. She said he intercepted her on 15 to 20 occasions between May 2004 and March 2006. Ms Eaves was later found not guilty of unlicensed driving.

During a four day civil trial in the District Court early last month, Ms Eaves testified Constable Donnelly, after placing her in handcuffs about 5.45pm on March 16, had paraded her through her building, down a lift, past cafes, shops, people and neighbours.

"(Ms Eaves) said (that) along the way she was sick and she was dry-retching and then once in the police vehicle she felt sick and needed to vomit,'' Judge Samios said.

"(Ms Eaves) was then transported to the Roma Street Watchhouse where she was taken into custody ... charged with the offence of disqualified driving ... (and later) before a magistrate ... was found not guilty of the charge.''

The court was told Ms Eaves, who represented herself during the hearing, felt her arrest was a malicious act and that she was "really scared about being put in the lock-up while pregnant.''

Ms Eaves testified Constable Donnelly had subjected her to ongoing harassment prior to the 2006 incident, saying the officer had approached her on between "15 and 20 occasions.''

Constable Donnelly testified he had "rarely made mistakes in his working life'' as a police officer.

Under cross-examination by Ms Eaves, Constable Donnelly denied acting in a "spiteful'' manner at the time he arrested her. "(However Constable Donnelly) agreed there had been verbal slanging-matches between (Ms Eaves) and (himself) but he said it was from (Ms Eaves') side not from his,'' Judge Samios said.

The court was told Ms Eaves' "traffic history was appalling'' and that she had racked up 30 traffic offences between January 7, 2000 and October 26, 2004. Judge Samios said Ms Eaves finally regained her driver's licence on July 31, 2008, but was booked for speeding the following day and caught driving while using a mobile phone on September 5, 2008.

In handing down his findings, Judge Samios said: "I consider (Constable Donnelly) was not even-handed about (Ms Eaves) ... (and) appeared to be adverse to (her).'' "I find (Constable Donnelly) made a mistake when he identified (Ms Eaves) as the driver of the vehicle ... (and) I do not accept he made an honest mistake.''

Judge Samios said he accepted Ms Eaves to be a "truthful witness'' and in particular "her evidence about her past dealings'' with Constable Donnelly. "(Constable Donnelly) handcuffed her with her hands behind her back and laughed at her when she was vomiting,'' he said.

"I find (Constable Donnelly) guilty of false imprisonment of (Ms Eaves) ... (and) I find the (State of Queensland) vicariously liable.''

Judge Samios awarded Ms Eaves $30,000 in compensatory damages, $10,000 in exemplary damages, $20,000 in aggravated damages and $33,000 interest.

SOURCE

2011-09-15T14:40:00.003+10:00

Amazing case: Single mother sues slimy cop -- and wins

She represented herself in court against a range of top legal brains and beat them all

I have in front of me a copy of the District Court judgment of today's date in the matter of Eaves v. Donnelly in which Renee Eaves was awarded the sum of $93,000 against Barry John Donnelly and the State of Queensland.

Ms Eaves is a very attractive blonde model from whom (I surmise) constable Donnelly wanted sex. He apparently was such a low character that he thought he could coerce her into it. She did not oblige him.

So he launched a campaign of harassment against her, secure in the assumption that a dumb blonde could never do anything to touch a Queensland cop.

He arrested her repeatedly on trumped up charges, all of which were thrown out when they came to court.

It was then that Renee showed her steel. She was NOT just a pretty face but a woman determined to get justice against the scum concerned.

And she stuck at it for years. She of course complained to the CMC -- where police investigate police -- and they rejected her complaint.

She then began to get media coverage of the matter, hoping that would shake some action loose. It didn't but it stressed out the cop. He went on stress leave for a year and then resigned.

But Renee still felt that the police had to be held to account -- to discourage oppression of other women by police. So she launched a damages claim in the District Court, where she showed she is not only a steely blonde but a smart one. She repeatedly cross-examined successfully.

During her long battle to get into the District Court, however, Renee ran out of money. Everything about the law is expensive and her means were slender. She in fact ran out just before the matter was due to come up so it looked as if her long battle was going to be for nought.

At that point I stepped in and paid her legal costs from that point on. I had never even met her but I have had a loathing against scum police ever since the extraordinary Barry Mannix case -- where the corrupt police got off Scot-free.

The real villain in this case, however is not the scum cop but rather the police service and the CMC who did nothing to pull him into line or attempt to make amends for his deeds. Except for the extraordinary courage of Ms Eaves, the guilt of the cop in the matter would never have been established.

And in the end it is the taxpayer who will pay -- well over $100,000 all up when legal costs are included.

2011-09-10T09:31:00.001+10:00

More than 600 Queensland police officers caught breaking traffic laws in two years

A POLICE sergeant who let an unlicensed young woman drive his marked patrol car while he changed gears is one of more than 600 officers who have been caught breaking traffic laws in the past two years.

The officer from Dimbulah in far north Queensland was reported by a witness after the car swerved to miss a kangaroo and hit a tree, then drove off. He had been seen drinking at the Chillagoe Hotel, about 100km away, before the crash.

The Ethical Standards Command investigated the case, along with 44 others relating to police weaving through bus lanes, talking on mobile phones while driving, drink-driving on the job and even driving unlicensed.

Another 557 police were made to pay speeding or red-light offences out of their own pocket after it was found they had no valid excuse for breaking traffic laws.

In three more cases, the police service could not identify the driver and had to pay the "corporate" fine.

A Queensland Police Service spokesman said the infringements officers had to pay themselves amounted to "fewer than one a day".

He said police could only speed while responding to priority one or two jobs and go through a red light after stopping to ensure it was safe to do so.

Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers said the fines showed police were treated no differently to others who broke traffic laws.

"If anything, police face more scrutiny and harsher treatment because of their role in the community," Mr Leavers said.

"Given there's more than 10,000 police in Queensland driving millions of kilometres a year, the numbers are really very small."

But Terry O'Gorman from the Queensland Council of Civil Liberties said it was appalling so many police were breaking traffic laws and escaping fines or disciplinary action.

Of the 45 cases investigated by ESC, 29 resulted in the lowest form of police discipline "managerial guidance" for the officers involved.

They included a motorcycle officer who drove at 146km/h in an 80km/h zone on the Sunshine Coast to catch another rider exceeding the speed limit by 28km/h.

A senior constable spotted talking on her mobile phone while escorting a long wide load was also given managerial guidance, as was an officer who used a police car for personal jobs, leaving his station and being unable to respond to an urgent case.

Mr Leavers said managerial guidance was a "valuable tool" in the disciplinary system.

Mr O'Gorman said their light-handed treatment reflected the attitude among police that there was "one law for them and another for the rest of us".

The Dimbulah sergeant was ordered to pay $9000 restitution to cover vehicle repairs and had his pay docked by about $40 a week.
SUBSTANTIATED

* A constable whose licence had been suspended by SPER was caught on camera speeding despite not being on the way to a job.

* A policewoman was spotted talking on her mobile phone while escorting a long-wide load.

* A policeman talking on his mobile while driving told a civilian who questioned him that police were exempt from traffic laws.

* An off-duty constable pulled over by police when he was seen talking on his mobile phone then blew a blood-alcohol reading of 0.051 per cent.

* A police officer on the way to a disturbance at Woorabinda hit a kangaroo and then recorded an alcometer reading of 0.057 per cent after reporting the incident.

* A police car struck a woman walking through Brunswick Street Mall and offered her no assistance.

* An officer who dobbed in a police recruit applicant for speeding was disciplined himself for doing 143 in a 70km/h zone in an unauthorised pursuit while off-duty.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/officers-caught-in-road-law-breaches/story-e6freoof-1226133456822

2011-09-06T09:16:00.001+10:00

A charming W.A. cop

He assaulted man with capsicum spray and poured beer over his head

A POLICE officer who assaulted a young man with capsicum spray before pouring beer over him has been charged.

The former policeman - a serving constable at the time - has been charged over the incident in Redcliffe on October 23 last year.

It will be alleged that the 54-year-old Walliston man assaulted a 23-year-old man by spraying him in the face with capsicum spray before pouring beer over the victim’s face.

It will be further alleged he made a false entry on the police computer system in relation to the incident. The man was charged with assault and falsifying documents.

An internal investigation into the incident was sparked after another police officer brought the man's conduct to the attention of the Police Commissioner.

The man resigned from the force earlier this year. He will appear in the Perth Magistrate’s Court tomorrow.

SOURCE

2011-09-04T20:58:00.001+10:00

Charming West Australian cop

Married detective accused of affair with teeanger, including sex in cop car -- and then refuses to break it off

A MARRIED policeman has been disciplined and transferred following an affair with a teenage model, during which he allegedly had sex with her in the back of his unmarked police car.

The tryst, which began just months after his marriage to a fellow police officer who is now eight months pregnant, ended in acrimony after police stepped in and took out an Apprehended Violence Order to protect his young lover.

The teenager, who lives on a housing estate, told police she'd been in a "sexual relationship" with Detective Senior Constable Stephen Buttel for eight months and had allegedly seen him while he was on duty.

In a 17-page statement, she said Buttel, 32, refused to end their relationship despite telling her after several months that he was married and his pregnant wife worked at the same station.

The teen told police that when she refused to see him, he began to stalk and harass her while on duty by sitting outside her house in an unmarked police car.

Police media issued a statement to The Sunday Telegraph saying Buttel has not only been transferred, but has been stripped from "detective duties".

"The action follows alleged misuse of official vehicles and breaches of code of conduct between 25 July 2009 and 1 July, 2010," a spokesman said. "The disciplinary order involves a transfer and removes the officer from detective duties, resulting in a significant reduction in salary."

Details of Buttel's affair are contained in an interim AVO file, which was released to The Sunday Telegraph by a magistrate.

Police confirmed the teen's allegations after checking Buttel's phone records and sifting through text messages. They sought an AVO due to a "strong" belief that she needed protection from the officer.

"Police have examined the phone message content and located a phone number belonging to Buttel, text messages attached appear to substanciate (sic) the allegation of contact and messages clearly show a need to have (the teenager) contact him," the AVO states.

The Sunday Telegraph spoke to the teenager and her father on Thursday and agreed, at their request, to suppress their identities for their safety.

The girl confirmed that virtually all her sexual encounters with Buttel occurred inside unmarked police vehicles. She said the police radio was always on to hear if any officers were called to investigate their "suspicious activity".

"(The girl) states that she became aware that Buttel was married but he continued to pursue her by sending text messages and meeting her to drive her around to locations she needed to be at," the AVO document states. "Buttel did this in police vehicles on duty."

A text message exchange obtained by police against their colleague was used in the AVO application to paint him as aggressive and controlling.

On May 6 last year, when she tried to end the relationship, Buttel allegedly wrote: "No, I decide."

Authorities obtained a six-month interim AVO against Buttel, which was finalised on April 28. The matter was withdrawn and dismissed after an agreement between the girl and Buttel that if he ceased to contact her, no further action would be taken.

On Thursday he was served with a "Region Commanders Warning Notice" and "Final Order" to cement the action against him. He has 21 days to appeal.

SOURCE

2011-09-02T14:40:00.001+10:00

W.A.: CCC blasts internal police misconduct investigations

The WA Police Internal Affairs Unit has inadequately handled several serious allegations of misconduct by officers to the extent that it could threaten community confidence in policing, the Corruption and Crime Commission has found.

In at least four serious cases during the past four years, the unit failed to deal with the matters thoroughly and rigorously, while some allegations were incorrectly recorded by police as non-misconduct allegations, the CCC revealed in a damning report into the management of misconduct by WA Police released today.

On at least one occasion, an investigating officer failed to declare a conflict of interest when he was appointed to deal with a complaint against a colleague, who was also a friend.

The CCC has made seven recommendations including that WA Police review its misconduct management system which could still be at risk of failing in its approach to dealing with conflict of interest complaints and unauthorised computer access.

WA Police should also review its approach to provide apologies to complainants, who were aggrieved, adopt Police Complaints Administration Centre quality assurance processes for all misconduct cases and implement complaint resolution training and consider issuing clearer guidelines.

However, the CCC said about 96 per cent of misconduct allegations were managed properly.

The CCC's director of corruption prevention Roger Watson said there were indications the Internal Affairs Unit had already improved and more recent cases would be examined in a second report.

The Peel police district already had made significant changes as a result of the CCC findings and the Internal Affairs Unit had reviewed its quality control practices, he said.

One of the inadequately handled misconduct cases involved a police helicopter filming a man being attacked by a police dog and Tasered after he had surrendered at the end of a high-speed pursuit.

While an internal investigation of a detective accused of sexual assault later led to a CCC investigation that resulted in the detective being convicted of various offences including unlawfully using a police computer to contact vulnerable females.

SOURCE

2011-08-31T15:53:00.001+10:00

Man died after being restrained by police in Spring Hill, Brisbane

POLICE used a neck restraint on a man during a scuffle in a Brisbane park before he became unconscious and later died, an inquest heard today.

Carl Antony Grillo, 42, died in the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital after the altercation with officers at Spring Hill on September 14, 2009.

Grillo was wanted by police for failing to appear in court in Caboolture Magistrates Court. He had been charged with drugs and weapons offences as well as breach of bail after being released from prison the previous month.

The Brisbane Coroners Court today heard one of the officers involved in Grillo's apprehension had used a neck restraint - a technique taught by the Queensland Police Service.

During their internal investigation of the incident, police said one of the officers had been in a scuffle with Grillo before he ended up on the ground. Another man helped that officer restrain Grillo before he was rolled into the recovery position.

Investigators said a second officer arrived and was talking to Grillo, but then the 42-year-old's breathing became shallower and an ambulance was called.

Witness Leith Phillips said she worked in an office block nearby and watched the drama unfold with her workmates. "We could hear some commotion outside. Because it kept going, we went out and had a look," she said.

Ms Phillips described two men pushing another "scruffy" looking man to the ground, who was tattooed and dressed in black. Once on the ground, she said the two men kneeled on his shoulder and lower back to restrain him. "The guy on the ground was sort of thrashing his head from side to side on the concrete," Ms Phillips said.

She said a third man arrived with a set of handcuffs, but the other two didn't get off him even after he was cuffed. She said one of the men looked around before giving the man on the ground a few quick hits to his head. "To me, it looked unnecessary," Ms Phillips said. "There were two guys on him, he was handcuffed, he wasn't going anywhere."

Ms Phillips agreed the hits were more like jabs but that they happened twice, and she discussed it with her colleagues. "We didn't believe there was a reason they needed to do that," she said.

Ms Phillips said she saw the men flip the tattooed man over and start talking to him, and she could see he was still breathing when they put him on his front.

But about five minutes later, she said they turned him over a second time and checked his vital signs. "When they got on the phone, we knew what they were doing. We assumed they were phoning the ambulance," she said.

SOURCE

2011-08-17T12:24:00.001+10:00

Qld. Police to be banned from investigating misconduct in their own ranks

QUEENSLAND police will be banned from investigating serious misconduct in their own ranks with private investigators or interstate officers to be used instead, under new State Government policy.

It is one of 57 recommendations from a three-person independent panel into the police complaints, discipline and misconduct system and was adopted by State Cabinet this week.

But Premier Anna Bligh has been accused of being "secretive" by sitting on the decision and not telling police or the public immediately.

The Queensland Police Union also said it was "payback" for last week's wage win in the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission, which will cost the Government an extra $87 million. "For the State Cabinet to secretly endorse changes to the Queensland Police Service and not tell anyone about it smacks of underhandedness of the highest order," QPU president Ian Leavers said.

"The Queensland Government should have had the honesty and the integrity to inform police of all the changes they had made when they actually made them."

Currently, the Crime and Misconduct Commission seconds QPS officers to investigate serious complaints.

The other recommendations, which are also expected to be implemented, include:

* Additional power for the CMC to change disciplinary decisions by the QPS if they deem them too lenient.

* New timeframes for reporting.

* Limited tenure for police and CMC officers in the Ethical Standards Command.

* Creating a joint CMC and QPS "ethical health scorecard" .

* Development of a business case for targeted drug and alcohol testing for police.

A spokeswoman for Ms Bligh denied there was anything secret about the initiatives, which were part of the Simple Effective Transparent Strong report, tabled in Parliament in May.

However, she would not say why an announcement on their adoption had not been forthcoming and did not deny a decision had been made.

The Premier said last night, in a statement, the Government was committed to releasing its response by the end of August. "There are 57 recommendations and we are giving our consideration to all of them," she said. "What's more I have asked for more work to be done around a number of them, and the Government is on track to release its full response as promised by the end of August."

Mr Leavers said the new system would "add significant costs and expenditure to the Queensland Budget at a time when we need to be spending every government dollar on frontline services not more pointless bureaucracy".

SOURCE

2011-08-16T09:55:00.001+10:00

Queensland police misconduct files reveal corruption, favouristism, sexual misconduct

A POLICE officer said he would let a woman off for mail theft if she had sex with him, another three officers were caught stealing while on duty and 10 more were nabbed for drink-driving - including one on the way to work, fraud and misconduct investigations have revealed.

More than 20 Queensland police officers have quit in the past 18 months after being investigated over serious incidents ranging from corruption and favouritism, sexual misconduct and inappropriate behaviour.

However, most of those investigations were subsequently dropped because they were no longer employed by Queensland Police Service, documents obtained by The Courier-Mail under Right to Information have revealed.

Other misconduct investigations that were substantiated included one where a police officer demanded a woman he was investigating for mail theft "show him her breasts", then proceeded to sexually assault her.

The (police officer) told her he had "bent a few rules", that he would "take care of a few charges and not prosecute her", documents reveal.

There are thousands of code of conduct complaints against police officers each year but a Queensland Police Service spokesman said only a "small fraction" were substantiated following investigations.

Other internal investigations into officers include:

* "Maintaining a relationship" with a career criminal and driving him away from a crime scene following an assault.

* Child pornography found on home computer.

* Pole dancing with a pool cue on top of a pool table and then inappropriately touching another officer in view CCTV cameras.

* Keeping nine guns under bed.

* Accessing police files for personal use.

Most officers caught drink-driving remained on the police force but lost their driving licences for a period of time after the matters were heard in court.

Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers said it was not surprising in a workforce of 15,000 people.

"The important issue is that these people have been identified and have either been dismissed, resigned or have been provided with managerial guidance to address their behavior so that they continue to maintain the high standards of the Queensland Police Service," he said.

"The police union does not support any person who deliberately engages in criminal, corrupt or illegal behavior but sometimes people genuinely make mistakes and we will always support those police involved," Mr Leavers said.

DIRTY DOZEN

CORRUPTION AND FAVOURITISM: The officer demanded a woman he was investigating for mail theft to "show him her breasts and sexually assaulted her". He took her for a drive in a police vehicle, "removed his penis from his pants and demanded oral sex". He later telephoned the woman he was investigating seeking phone sex and told her he'd "bent a few rules" to take care of the charges against her and see that she wasn't prosecuted. The investigation was substantiated and the officer resigned.

SEXUAL MISCONDUCT: Taskforce Argos found images of child exploitation material on the officer's home hard drive. He had been accessing the material over a number of years. The officer resigned and court action was taken.

CORRUPTION AND FAVOURITISM: An officer maintained a relationship with a career criminal who was under witness protection, even being prepared to drive him away from the scene of an assault before police arrived. Officer resigned and the investigation did not reach a conclusion.

CORRUPTION AND FAVOURITISM: The officer took a body to the undertaker where his wife worked. He resigned from QPS and the investigation did not reach a conclusion.

INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOUR: The off-duty officer was on top of a pool table and "pole dancing" with a pool cue. She approached a woman, placed her arm around her shoulders and neck, squeezing tight. There was CCTV footage of the incident and the officer resigned and the investigation did not reach a conclusion.

PUBLIC NUISANCE: The officer's brother failed to leave a licensed premises, was arrested and taken to the police station following a joint drinking session. The off-duty officer then banged on the station's front door loudly, yelled abuse at police and was drunk. His brother was released and went back to the hotel to join the officer after being refused entry. When police arrived, the officer was involved in a fight at the hotel. When his police colleagues tried to intervene, the officer pushed them away, swore and abused them. He was taken away by a friend before he was arrested. The officer resigned.

INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOUR: Officer picked up intoxicated youths who he knew as part of "Adopt-a-cop" and drove them around for hours and let them sleep at his home. He was provided with "managerial guidance".

EXCESSIVE FORCE/ASSAULT OFF DUTY: The complainant alleges the officer punched him in the face when an argument broke out during a drinking session. The officer has since died.

COVERING UP INAPPROPRIATE CONDUCT: Officer lied about a speeding fine after being caught doing 91km/h in a 70km/h zone. He falsified a report claiming he was "speeding to intercept a white van following too close to another vehicle". The officer now admits he did not intercept the vehicle and at the time he had "accumulated near maximum points on his drivers licence".

STEALING: An officer used a police car to transport fence panels he stole while on night patrol. They were later erected in his own front garden. He was helped by another officer. One of them resigned - also suspected of stealing shed panels - and both were ordered to undertake 120 hours of community service and pay restitution.

STEALING: An officer was in possession of a ute that had been reported stolen and the insurance claim had settled. The officer resigned and was fined $1000 and given a 12 month good behaviour bond.

STEALING: An officer attended a break and enter at a private business and convinced the owner that an industrial-grade high-pressure cleaner would be seized as evidence and then destroyed. In actual fact, the officer took the cleaner home. He was also accused of stealing paint tins from the scene of a fire. The officer resigned and the investigation did not reach a conclusion.

SOURCE

2011-08-13T12:20:00.002+10:00

Qld. Police suppress 'appalling' video of misbehaviour by one of their own

A video showing an anti-terrorism squad officer stripped to his underpants and gyrating his groin in the face of a drunk Aboriginal colleague has been suppressed at the request of Queensland Police.

The suppression order comes ahead of the release of a major review of police disciplinary procedures, raising further questions about the culture within Queensland’s police force and why the officer was not sacked.

The security camera footage, taken at the McDonald’s restaurant in the south-east Queensland town of Kingaroy on March 23 last year, shows Constable Daniel Kennedy straddling the Aboriginal officer while nine other non-indigenous officers watched on.

Constable Kennedy’s actions came to light when police reviewed the footage during an investigation into the Aboriginal officer’s arrest at the restaurant late on the first night of the state’s annual police rugby league carnival.

A Queensland Police report into the incident described Constable Kennedy actions thus: "You approached …removed your shorts, lifted your left leg and gyrated your groin in front of his face."

'APPALLING' ACTIONS

The Special Emergency Response Team officer’s actions were described as “appalling” by Deputy Commissioner Ian Stewart, who presided over an internal police disciplinary action last November.

"I have seen the footage and I am appalled by your behaviour … I am sure that had members of the public witnessed your behaviour, they would have been affronted by it … In your case, not only did you commit an act resulting in your conviction for a public nuisance offence but, if observed by a member of the public, it had the potential not only to be seen as offensive but also taunting the dignity of [the other officer], together with racial overtones."

Deputy Commissioner Stewart delivered his findings in the presence of Constable Kennedy, who denied it was a racist act.

However, Deputy Commissioner Stewart found Constable Kennedy’s conduct had “tarnished the good image of the majority of members of this organisation, which we strive to maintain …”

“Additionally your conduct had the potential to result in significant publicity and embarrassment to the Service and its members,” he said.

Deputy Commissioner Stewart's report said that Constable Kennedy had kept his underpants on, but an investigation had revealed the incident with the intoxicated and sleeping Aboriginal officer was not consensual.

“I note the argument submitted that your actions were done in jest and not intended to offend your friend,” Deputy Commissioner Stewart said. “I acknowledge there is no evidence you exposed yourself or that there was any contact, deliberate or accidental, between your genital area and [the other officer]. Further [he] has regarded this as a joke.”

FOOTAGE SUPPRESSED

Queensland's administrative appeals tribunal, QCAT, has ordered the CCTV footage never be shown.

An application by SBS for its release was denied, in spite of assurances to conceal the Aboriginal officer's identity.

Tribunal member Susan Booth ruled the footage is "capable of offending public decency" and could still cause the officer public ridicule and humiliation.

Former Queensland police inspector Col Dillion, once the highest ranking Aboriginal officer in Australia, retired a decade ago warning of the police culture towards indigenous officers.

“I think it is absolutely reprehensible, the actions of the police … given for starters, the police officer, any police officers for that matter should be setting the highest possible standards of behaviour for society,” he said.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service's Greg Shadbolt said Constable Kennedy’s actions had besmirched the reputations of his colleagues.

“The Queensland police service has the largest vested interest in cleaning up this area because there are many many officers who work long and hard in very trying circumstances, and do a tremendous job, as a general rule, and for them to have their reputation besmirched by conduct of this nature is really beyond the pale,” he said.

“One must feel really sorry for the other officers and wonder what they must think of all this.”

The Aboriginal officer did not lodge a complaint about the incident. He declined to be interviewed by SBS.

$250 FINE

The police disciplinary report states Constable Kennedy “did not believe his actions were inappropriate when he considers the circumstances of the incident. He stated this type of behaviour had occurred at other police football carnivals".

He was immediately stood down from anti-terrorism duties and later pleaded guilty to public nuisance, for which he was fined $250 with no conviction recorded in Kingaroy magistrates court.

Despite suppressing video of the incident, QCAT rejected a police application to suppress an audio recording of the deputy commissioner Ian Steward's disciplinary hearing, citing public interest.

It reveals that Constable Kennedy’s pay was frozen for a year, but this did not prevent his reinstatement to the elite Special Emergency Response Team.

ATSILS’ Greg Shadbolt said the outcome seemed “woefully inadequate”. “As I say, it really does demonstrate yet again the fact that police investigating police in terms of outcomes, simply doesn't work,” he said.

Mr Dillion, now the acting director of the University of Queensland's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit, said if a similar incident took place in that institution, the offender would be sacked.

“I'd certainly expect the person would be dealt with in the harshest possible terms,” he said.

In a brief statement to SBS, Queensland's police minister (mr) Neil Roberts said the issue is an internal police matter

A review of police disciplinary procedures ordered by Queensland premier Anna Bligh is due for release by September. It comes after the lack of disciplinary action against police investigators in the Palm Island death-in-custody case of Cameron Doomadgee. The issue of police investigating police is a major concern of the review.

Mr Shadbolt said the facts of the Kingaroy incident were not in question, placing the focus on Constable Kennedy’s punishment. “Anyone else, working for any other organisation would have been dismissed and the question I think the public is asking is should the police have lower standards than the rest of society,” he said.

Queensland Police told SBS the matter had been investigated by its Ethical Standards Command, and that “disciplinary charges were laid against this officer in accordance with the findings of that investigation”.

SOURCE

2011-08-12T12:23:00.001+10:00

Top NSW cop convicted on drug charges

ONE of the state's most senior law enforcement officers - yesterday convicted of drug charges - is under investigation over further drug importations, the Herald has learnt.

The conviction of Mark William Standen, an assistant director with the NSW Crime Commission when he was arrested in June 2008, raises questions about his relationship with commission informers and his involvement in the kinds of offences he and his colleagues routinely investigated.

The verdict opens the way for a public examination of procedures at the Crime Commission and alleged corruption in the Australian Federal Police.

The Police Minister, Michael Gallacher, announced a special commission of inquiry into the crime-fighting body but ruled out having the inquiry investigating any allegations of misconduct.

The former premier and now opposition police spokesman, Nathan Rees, said there was a risk innocent people might have been jailed as a result of Standen's high-level involvement in law enforcement. "The Police Minister must order an immediate review of the dozens of serious and sensitive investigations at the NSW Crime Commission [that] Mark Standen oversaw," Mr Rees said. "These investigations now have a very real cloud over them."

A former assistant police commissioner, Clive Small, also said the inquiry should be broadened: "If there's an inquiry that's not going to examine past conduct, then I don't know how the government will be able to understand how things ended up as they did."

Standen was convicted after a five-month trial in the NSW Supreme Court of conspiring to import pseudoephedrine and to pervert the course of justice, and of taking part in the supply of 300 kilograms of the substance. His trial revealed an improper relationship with an informer, James Kinch, financial irregularities and disregard for Crime Commission rules.

Standen admitted breaching commission rules in the way he dealt with Kinch by becoming friendly and accepting money from him.

He also lobbied the Director of Public Prosecutions - with a letter under the signature of his boss commissioner Philip Bradley - to drop charges against Kinch so that he would agree to forfeit at least $900,000 in suspected drug money to the commission. The present Attorney-General, Greg Smith, was deputy DPP at the time and dealt with the matter.

The trial excluded some evidence about Standen's alleged co-conspirators and about further allegations against Standen - some dating back to the start of his 33-year law enforcement career.

Among the things the jury of six men and five women did not know was that one of his co-conspirators, the food wholesaler Bill Jalalaty, last year admitted plotting with Standen to import a large quantity of pseudoephedrine, a substance used to make the drug ice.

After Jalalaty pleaded guilty last year, he and his wife Dianne made serious allegations of corruption in the Australian Federal Police, where Mrs Jalalaty had worked with Standen in the 1980s. It is unclear what has become of this investigation.

Standen now faces possible life imprisonment when he is sentenced at a later date. A 54-year-old father of four, Standen smiled wryly when the jury announced its verdict after less than 10 hours of deliberations. His brothers, who had supported him throughout the trial, declined to make a statement but appeared unsurprised by the outcome.

While the trial was in full swing, authorities were already delving into Standen's further involvement in the illegal drug trade.

This investigation so far has been limited to his contact with Kinch, the informer at the centre of his trial, amid suggestions that Standen had been complicit in several other of Kinch's attempted - and successful - drug importations into Australia since 2004.

The federal police are investigating whether Standen had regularly spoken to Customs under the pretext of passing on tip-offs but with the aim of finding out whether a drug shipment linked to Kinch had attracted their attention. It is believed $200,000 Standen received from him was payment for such services.

Kinch, who allegedly was the link to a famous Dutch drug syndicate, remains in a Thai jail fighting extradition to Australia. He has been watching the case closely, blogging and sending postcards - perceived as hidden threats - to Standen and Jalalaty in jails in Sydney.

There have been allegations about Standen's dealings with other informers, which could mean the inquiry will be widened.

Standen was also convicted yesterday for perverting the course of justice, by allegedly using his knowledge and contacts in law enforcement to avoid detection and prosecution. It did not explore whether any other officers were working with him.

The NSW Bar Association said Standen's trial raised disturbing issues. "Evidence at this trial justifies a re-examination of Mr Standen's connections with informers and other criminal suspects throughout his career at the Crime Commission," said a spokesman, Phillip Boulten, SC. "It is clear that Mark Standen was let go by people who should have reined him in."

The NSW Law Society president, Stuart Westgarth, supported that call, saying: "Where such extensive powers are present, the risk of misconduct is inherent … [and] there is a high risk that if there is misconduct, it will be serious."

But Mr Gallacher said if the commission of inquiry turned up matters that warranted proper scrutiny, it would refer them to the Police Integrity Commission. "It is not my intention to be running a royal commission, if you like, into the Crime Commission. This is a special commission of inquiry to look at the governance issues."

Australian authorities were alerted to Standen's involvement in the importation plan after a tip-off from Dutch authorities, who had intercepted a fax sent by the alleged Dutch syndicate from an Amsterdam internet cafe to Jalalaty's business.

The federal police and the Crime Commission had Standen and Jalalaty under investigation for more than a year.

After the conviction yesterday, police are still wondering about the pseudoephedrine, which was allegedly shipped from Pakistan but never reached Sydney. This, and the whereabouts of some of Kinch's money, remain a great mystery.

SOURCE

2011-08-03T19:48:00.001+10:00

Renee Eaves vs. Barry Donnelly and the Qld. Police heating up

From Last March:

A former swimsuit model is suing the Queensland Police Service for $200,000 in damages, claiming she was repeatedly harassed by a traffic policeman and wrongfully arrested.

Gold Coast mum Renee Eaves, 34, is claiming a former Brisbane constable intercepted her 15 to 20 times between 2004 and 2006 and was known to regularly park outside the Brisbane unit she lived in at the time.

In a statement of claim lodged in the Brisbane District Court, the former Miss Bikini World said the officer often pulled her over for minor traffic infringements and once fined her for being a car passenger with a twisted seatbelt.

Apparently the case goes to court this coming Monday. An interesting twist is that Crown Law are apparently trying to spy on Ms Eaves. Sherman Oh, for the Crown Solicitor, inadvertently copied Ms Eaves in on an email in which he said he was going to try to get the Justice Dept. to break into her restricted Facebook page. I understand that the Sunday Mail are at the moment looking into that extraordinary behaviour. Ms Eaves has got somebody rattled!

Donnelly is still in the force apparently. My interpretation is that he tried to get free sex off Ms Eaves but when she knocked him back he got vindictive.

2011-08-01T11:04:00.002+10:00

Evil NSW cops hit the taxpayer for $300,000

Led by a dickless Tracy

THE NSW Government has been ordered to pay $300,000 in damages to a Sydney man after police wrongfully arrested him and continued with a malicious prosecution that included keeping him in jail for nearly two months without trial.

In 2006, heavily armed police forcefully arrested Haysam Zreika at his car glazing business in Artarmon, pushing him to the ground, pointing a gun at him and treading on his head. They charged Mr Zreika, 32, with shooting a man in the scrotum at a unit in Parramatta.

But the detectives from Rosehill police had scant evidence that Mr Zreika had any involvement in the crime and effectively ignored strong evidence that he was not guilty, a judge has found. They relied almost entirely on a statement from a man working at a nearby service station who witnessed Mr Zreika come into his store and say aloud, that he had just killed, or felt like killing, "some c----", and that he had "had enough".

The attendant reported this to police, along with a description of Mr Zreika.

The description did not match a description of the shooter given to police by witnesses at the crime scene itself.

The shooter was described as being short, stocky, and wearing blue jeans and an orange hoodie. Mr Zreika is tall, skinny, and had been wearing khaki pants and a red hoodie.

The detective in charge of the investigation, Detective Constable Jacqueline Ryder, elected not to interview several key witnesses who were closely connected to the victim of the crime until after the arrest, NSW District Court Judge Stephen Walmsley said in his judgment in the civil case last month.

"That there were … obvious differences between the description of the shooter … and that of the plaintiff, should, I consider, have been obvious to the average astute police investigator," Judge Walmsley said.

The police opposed Mr Zreika's requests for bail on two occasions, and he was kept in prison for nearly two months until the charges were eventually dropped.

Judge Walmsley found that in opposing bail "important information suggestive of the plaintiff's innocence of the charges was not given to the court or to the plaintiff's solicitor" and that the police's statement of facts "contained serious, and highly prejudicial misstatements".

Police left out the fact that in a police line-up undertaken after his arrest all eye witnesses had excluded Mr Zreika as the assailant.

Yesterday, the Herald asked NSW Police whether it is investigating Constable Ryder and other officers involved in the investigation but is awaiting a response.

SOURCE

2011-07-29T13:29:00.001+10:00

Lazy Victoria police couldn't be bothered to catch a crook

They were handed the evidence on a plate but only a complaint to a police regulator got them off their fat backsides. I had a very similar experience with the Queensland police -- JR

Emily Kitson thought her iPhone 4 was gone forever when it was stolen from beneath a cash register while she was at work. Her partner, Josh, was beginning to think so too after dealing with what he said was an unhelpful police officer.

On Saturday May 21 this year, Ms Kitson, 19, had been working at a lolly store at Broadmeadows Shopping Centre in Victoria. "It was just like a normal Saturday and I had my phone underneath the till where everyone else leaves their phone," Ms Kitson said.

During the day she served a man she described as being in his 30s or 40s who "distracted both of the staff and paid for his lollies and left". Immediately after serving him, though, another man came up to Ms Kitson, she said, and told her that he saw the man she just served steal her phone. "I checked and ... it was gone, so I went and got the security guard and they sort of chased after him."

After waiting about an hour, Ms Kitson said she was told by security that the man who stole her phone had got away in a taxi but that they had imagery of him stealing it on CCTV footage.

Following the iPhone theft, Ms Kitson said she called her partner Josh, who remembered installing "Google Latitude" onto her phone, a location-aware app that lets authorised friends track where someone's phone is. The app uses GPS, wi-fi and mobile phone towers to determine a phone's location. Luckily for Ms Kitson, Josh was an authorised friend. "I completely forgot about it," she said.

After realising the app was installed, Ms Kitson said Josh told her he had tracked the phone "to a place about a kilometre from the shopping centre". The location was constantly updating.

With CCTV footage available for police to obtain from Broadmeadows Shopping Centre and the Google Latitude app pinpointing the phone to a suburban house, Emily and her partner believed they had some hope in retrieving it with the help of police.

But according to Ms Kitson, the police officer she and Josh spoke to at Broadmeadows Police Station was unhelpful to deal with. "I told them everything that I had, I gave them a description, I said that we had tracked [the thief] to an address and that it was still updating and that I had him on video doing it," Ms Kitson said.

But the police officer she spoke with "wasn't very nice", she said. "He didn't seem to be very interested in what we were saying. I don't know if it was because we were young. [But] he sort of gave me the impression that I was lying [and] he said that [he didn't] understand how something like [this could] happen."

Despite this, Ms Kitson said the officer wrote down the information she gave him on a notebook and said that he would send a report to her by Tuesday. "I was a bit disheartened considering how much we had," she said. "I figured [the information I gave them] would be enough for them to actually do something. I didn't think that I would get my phone back - but at the very least maybe the [thief] would get charged because I heard from people within the shopping centre that he was the common person there that stole a lot of stuff."

Josh "was pretty upset" about the officer's effort, Ms Kitson said. "So he sort of just started chasing it up and ringing up and seeing if it had been reported." In doing so, she said he "found out that the guy that I had spoken to at the police station had gone on ... leave and hadn't even reported the incident". Comment is being sought from police on this claim.

"... It wasn't even reported yet, which was the very least that we would expect," Ms Kitson claimed, which led her partner to continue to call police, checking up the case. "He just kept talking to people and they just kept stuffing him about and saying 'You're just going to have to wait it out'," she said.

What made it worse for the pair was that the phone was not insured, which made retrieving it a top priority for them.

Ms Kitson understood there were "more important crimes out there" than a stolen iPhone but believed that with the information she had the case could be closed fairly quickly.

"All the time that this was happening ... the phone was updating the address. And that was horrible because I could see that [a] person had my phone but there was nothing that I could do about it. "I wasn't about to go to their address and say 'Give me back my phone'."

The phone had even made its way to a nearby Catholic girls' school, according to Josh. It later became evident as to why.

After dealing with police for a number of days, Ms Kitson's partner Josh took the case to the Victoria Police Conduct Unit. "The police were not helping us at all," Ms Kitson said.

After her partner communicated with the Conduct Unit a number of times, the officer who the couple first reported the incident to got back to Ms Kitson's partner to tell him that he had sent a squad car to the address where the Google Latitude tracking software had located the phone, only to find the address didn't exist, Ms Kitson said.

"So Josh went on Google Maps and printed out pictures of the house. He found a real estate listing of it to prove that it was a real house. I don't know what [the police] were looking at".

A trip was then made to the police station to explain how the Google Latitude software worked, she said, and officers were given several photos Josh had of locations where the phone had been tracked to. "We were taking screenshots of every time it updated," Ms Kitson said.

It's understood the location the phone was pinpointing was not the house with the stolen phone but one nearby, which led police to have to investigate further.

Ten days after the phone was stolen, Josh received a call he wasn't expecting. "One morning we had a call saying that [the police] had gone to [a] house at 12 o'clock at night and gotten my phone," Ms Kitson said. "Apparently it was a 14-year-old girl that had it."

According to Ms Kitson, the police informed that the girl had purchased the phone for about $80 from what they believed was the man that stole it at the lolly shop. The man had apparently taken the iPhone directly to the girl after he stole it, Ms Kitson said police told her.

She described how the girl had left a number of text messages on the phone that indicated the girl knew the phone had been stolen. An online instant messenger program - MSN - was also left signed in. "I was very shocked that I got my phone back; I wasn't expecting it at all."

Now Ms Kitson has the girl's phone number saved in her contacts under "Idiot Who Bought A Stolen iPhone". The number was made available to Ms Kitson as the girl had sent messages to her friends with the new number she presumably got from buying a new SIM card for the iPhone to work. "They left messages on there, texting everyone saying they got a new phone but 'I can't tell you where from'."

Ms Kitson said she read many of the messages on the phone, as it was her property, but "didn't do anything mean - though I probably could have". There were also a number of new purchased apps on the phone.

In a statement, Victoria Police said a phone was reported stolen on May 21 and recovered after the execution of a warrant at a Meadow Heights property on May 31. It said a 46 year-old female had been interviewed regarding the matter, "however no charges have been laid and the investigation is ongoing".

SOURCE

2011-07-26T12:10:00.001+10:00

The charming Victoria police again

Policeman loses car after being caught hooning at Mornington

A DETECTIVE had his unregistered car impounded for 30 days after being caught hooning in Mornington on the weekend.

The 42-year-old off-duty policeman from the eastern region was pulled over by police on Main St about 11pm on Saturday.

A police spokeswoman said he was interviewed and is likely to be charged on summons with failing to have proper control of his vehicle and driving an unregistered car. His car was impounded for 30 days under the hoon legislation.

He is likely to face an internal disciplinary hearing over the matter.

SOURCE

2011-07-26T09:23:00.001+10:00

A "no pursuit" policy in Queensland?

Police pursuits have their problems but stopping them altogether is just bureaucratic cowardice. Comments from Peter Pyke below, a former Queensland police officer who still has contacts in the service. His mobile: 0427 388 598

We recently saw the CMC’s report into police pursuits published. It proves that many drivers of vehicles which evade police pursuits these days are car thieves who are not to be found at the address attached to the vehicle’s Queensland Transport records. Duh!

Who does not remember the stolen yellow Holden Monaro sedan which was allowed to ram a cop car in a servo then continue to drive unrestricted around the Gold Coast area for at least a week whilst it was being used in crimes because someone in the QPS came up with a no-pursuit policy? I can’t. I’ve personally written up two diabolically insane situations here on the Darling Downs where criminals not known to police driving stolen vehicles and continuing to commit crime could only be ‘observed’ by police, despite late-night and low traffic situations being highly favourable for a short chase unlikely to result in anything other than an arrest.

Can anyone else see the Keystone Cops aspects of this policy which I say is contributing to the number of armed robberies and a general disrespect for police?

Any hoon worth their salt must be laughing up their sleeves at the Queensland coppers ‘no pursuit’ policy. Any copper worth their’s must be fuming. Any armed robber is likely to pinch themselves when they do a runner and the cops have to simply peel off as soon as the baddie puts his/her foot down.

Citizens should be outraged. Part of policing is catching bad guys. Part of catching bad guys is chasing them, on foot, in cars, in boats and in the air.

The CMC report also confirms that the customary penalty for drivers who fail to stop for police who must not fail to stop is about the same price of a big night out for a teen driver - $300.00. Is that a real deterrent? No, it’s a seriously unfunny joke and if police are to continue to be stopped from pursuing stolen vehicles which are used to commit crimes, specialist ground-air units to track these vehicles and arrest offenders when they are stopped must be formed as has been implemented with marked success in some US states. Until this is done, the no-pursuit policy must be relaxed for competent police drivers who have been trained to chase safely and – like me – have performed hundreds of high-speed pursuits without incident. That’s part of their job, it goes with the territory.

That reminds me, why is it that Queensland has no police helicopters? Non? Zero. Zilch? Zip? As I said before, its not cash. Last year, someone in the QPS failed to expend $16 million. That would have paid for two choppers, or one chopper and a lot of other things. Last year, someone in the QPS earned a pat on the head for helping out the Bligh Government’s bottom line. Personally, I think they deserve a kick up the arse for failing my community.

By email from the author

2011-07-22T22:26:00.001+10:00

Great to be a cop

NSW Officer guilty of peeing on war memorial gets off. A man who desecrated the cenotaph in London recently went to jail

A FEMALE police officer who urinated on a Sydney war memorial has escaped a conviction, despite a magistrate describing the offence as "vile and despicable".

Jessica Mary Lodge, a 29-year-old constable based at Redfern police station in the inner city, pleaded guilty at Downing Centre Local Court to urinating on the steps of the Anzac War Memorial in Hyde Park, in the city's CBD, last month.

Magistrate Jane Culver, who described the offence as "vile and despicable", did not record a conviction against Lodge, but placed her on a 12-month good behaviour bond.

According to court documents, about 10.30pm on June 16, a security guard saw Lodge pull down her jeans and squat on the war memorial steps before urinating.

When the guard informed her she was under arrest, Lodge tried to leave the scene, saying: "I'm a police officer, just let me go, this will affect my career." Police arrived soon after to question the off-duty officer, who apologised and said she had been at a "half-yearly" function and just "needed to go to the toilet". An officer who attended the scene said Lodge appeared "moderately intoxicated", the police fact sheet tendered to the court said.

She was allowed to leave and the incident, which was captured on CCTV footage, was reported.

Lodge's lawyer, Patrick Conaghan, told the magistrate his client was unaware the Hyde Park structure was a war memorial. He also said her father had served in WWII.

Lodge had been charged with committing an offensive act.

SOURCE

2011-07-16T11:15:00.001+10:00

W.A. Cops accused of concocting story to avoid speeding fine

Two police officers have been charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice after allegedly trying to "write off" speeding fines by falsifying documents and claiming they were engaged in a pursuit.

The constables, a male and a female, were today charged by internal affairs officers after a protracted investigation.

In April, The Sunday Times revealed the two officers were stood down over a $75 speeding fine after they claimed to have been chasing a vehicle when their police car went through a speed trap on Stirling Highway in Cottesloe at 1.35am on August 13 last year.

The police vehicle was snapped by a fixed speed camera travelling 7km/h over the 60km/h limit. But a review of several seconds of video footage taken by the camera after the alleged offence revealed there were no other cars in sight at the time.

Both officers, who were stationed in the central metropolitan district at the time, were today charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice. They are due to appear in Perth Magistrates Court on August 5 and remain stood down on full pay.

The prosecution will allege that the female officer, who was a passenger at the time, accessed the in-car computer system to enter the registration of a ficticious vehicle into a CAD (computer aided dispatch) and claimed to have pulled over the vehicle to speak with the driver.

It will also be alleged that the female officer put in a radio call to the Police Operations Centre reporting the speed camera had been activated during the pursuit, before entering another false entry in the CAD system.

The male officer, who had been the driver at the time, allegedly used the false information to make an entry in his police notebook about the incident.

Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan has previously warned that any officers found to give misleading information during internal investigations risked losing their jobs.

SOURCE

2011-07-14T20:50:00.000+10:00

Police Officer of the Year escapes conviction for drink-driving

Excellent: Now we all know how to get off a drink-driving charge. Say that a conviction would "impact on your 'economic or social well-being'"

THE Gold Coast's Police Officer of the Year has escaped a conviction for drink-driving after a court accepted it would impact on his 'economic or social well-being'.

Police asked for a conviction to be recorded against Senior Constable Michael Froggatt but Southport magistrate Terry Duroux exercised his discretion not to impose one.

Mr Duroux said he accepted Sen Const Froggatt had shown 'very genuine' remorse and faced being demoted and having his pay docked by the Queensland Police Service.

Sen Const Froggatt pleaded guilty today to drink-driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.085 per cent after being picked up in Surfers Paradise following a night-shift at the weekend. He is believed to have gone to the Sin City nightclub after finishing work.

Sen-Const Froggatt has been stood down from operational duties and faces an internal investigation after breath-testing himself before getting into his vehicle.

Defence lawyer Bill Potts said police were subjected to the same 'failure, weaknesses and misjudgments' as everyone and Sen Const Froggatt accepted he had let down his colleagues and the community. But he said the community asked 'an awful lot' of police and Sen Const Froggatt had worked two 13-hour shifts before he was nabbed for drink-driving. "Is it any wonder a man has a drink to relax and take the edge off the tension of working in Surfers Paradise?" he told the court. Mr Potts said his client had also been shamed in the media.

Mr Duroux said he accepted the community did ask a lot of police and took into account character references, including one from the vice-chancellor of Bond University where Sen Const Froggatt is studying a criminology degree part-time.

The magistrate fined Sen Const Froggatt $400 and disqualified him from driving for three months, but ordered no conviction be recorded.

SOURCE

2011-07-12T09:49:00.001+10:00

Cop's personal car impounded after reckless driving charges

A SENIOR police officer has been charged with reckless driving and will have his car seized after he was allegedly caught speeding twice in the same day in the state's south.

Mark McKenzie, a 41-year-old detective, was snapped by a Multanova speed camera travelling at 125kmh and 134kmh in an 80kmh zone in the Great Southern police district on June 25.

The officer will have his personal vehicle seized under anti-hoon laws and face a $1000 speeding fine. He could also be hit with disciplinary action, following an internal investigation into the incident.

Mr McKenzie is due to appear in Albany Magistrates Court on August 1.

Acting Commander for Regional WA Lawrence Panaia said the officer was on duty and was driving to a job with lights and sirens in operation on both occasions. ``Clearly, there are some ramifications on whether or not that type of driving was justified in those circumstances,'' he said.

``There's two outcomes that you can reach here. One, that the urgent duty driving was warranted and the officer has done nothing wrong, or secondly, that it wasn't warranted and we need to then take action, and that's where it would be a real concern.''

He said the internal investigation would focus on whether the job warranted a high-speed response.

Source

2011-07-11T20:50:00.001+10:00

Cop of the Year arrested for drink-driving

THE Gold Coast's Police Officer of the Year has been arrested for drink-driving and faces a court date as well as possible disciplinary action.

Senior Constable Michael Froggatt was nabbed while off-duty and in a private vehicle in Surfers Paradise about 5am on Sunday after working a night-shift. The 34-year-old officer was breath-tested by colleagues and allegedly recorded a blood alcohol concentration of .085 per cent. He was given a notice to appear in Southport Magistrates Court on Wednesday. A police spokeswoman said disciplinary action was also being considered.

Sen-Const Froggatt is a detective, now working in uniform in Surfers Paradise, who has worked on some of the Gold Coast's biggest criminal cases. He has also been undertaking a criminology degree part-time at Bond University where he serves as a 'campus cop', giving students crime and public safety advice.

Last August, Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson presented Sen-Const Froggatt with the Rotary Gold Coast Police Officer of the Year award for efforts including implementing a Neighbourhood Watch scheme. His reign is due to end next month.

After a spate of police were caught drink-driving, Mr Atkinson last year introduced tougher discIplinary penalties for his officers, including dismissal for high-range blood alcohol readings above .15 per cent cent.

However, a Sunshine Coast officer who was sacked after blowing .235 per cent successfully challenged his dismissal in the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal which ordered his reinstatement.

Last month, Mr Atkinson said random drug and alcohol testing for Queensland police was 'inevitable'. This followed a Crime and Misconduct Commission investigation into Gold Coast police taking drugs and drinking free alcohol in nightclubs.

SOURCE

2011-07-08T09:52:00.001+10:00

Police caught on CCTV tape manhandling teenage woman in South Australian country station

POLICE officers shown in CCTV footage of the violent arrest of a teenager at a country station are now being investigated. Sent anonymously to The Advertiser yesterday, the footage shows the 18-year-old woman being pushed against the charge counter by a male officer while her arms are pinned, even though she appears to be compliant and non-aggressive.

Five male officers are present during the ordeal, which unfolds over more than 10 minutes. At one stage, the teen's shoulder and body are roughly forced against the counter, while an officer puts his right arm into her neck.

The same officer also kicks the girl's legs apart on two occasions and pins her left hand against the counter, clearly causing her discomfort.

The woman was subsequently charged with three counts of assault police and is due in court in October.

She was taken to the station after having been arrested for disorderly behaviour while in the driveway of the block of flats where she lives.

The Advertiser understands the incident was initially investigated by the police station's operations manager, and an officer subsequently placed on a personal learning and performance program. A new internal investigation is under way, following a fresh complaint from an anonymous officer.

Assistant Commissioner Madeleine Glynn last night admitted police's Internal Investigation Section and the Police Complaints Authority had been advised of the incident. "Police take complaints of excessive force seriously and, as such, a thorough investigation is being undertaken into all aspects of this incident," Ms Glynn said in an emailed statement to The Advertiser. "As this is an active investigation no further comment will be made."

Yesterday, the woman declined to comment, following advice from her lawyers. A friend was keeping her company and a number of young people visited her flat. The woman's lawyers are preparing to defend the three charges of assault police that the teen faces.

They were aware some CCTV footage had been leaked from the police station - understandably by police - but were not aware if it had been sent to Police Commissioner Mal Hyde. The woman's lawyer, Karen Koerner, said her client would "vigorously defend" the assault charges against her.

It is understood a police officer visited the girl about two days after the May 3 arrest and handling of the girl in the police station, and gave her paperwork to make a formal complaint about her treatment by police officers. A document accompanied the CCTV footage sent to The Advertiser, which names the officers shown in the footage.

The footage shows the woman at the charge counter; she appears upset, but at no stage during the footage does she appear to be a threat to the five male officers present. The girl is eventually taken to a cell, where another male officer removes her necklace. She is clearly agitated and appears to hyperventilate.

Opposition Police spokesman David Ridgway said Police Minister Kevin Foley should demand an inquiry into the incident and the officers involved should be stood down pending the outcome.

"From what I've seen, the force that was used seems to be unreasonable," Mr Ridgway said. "It is alarming that someone within SAPOL has felt the only solution is to go to the media," he said. "That does bring into question their internal investigations and the validity of those investigations."

SOURCE

2011-06-29T12:22:00.001+10:00

NSW police goons

POLICE used capsicum spray in a man's eyes and a stun gun on his brother without warning or explanation during an NRL grand final celebration at St George Leagues Club, a court heard yesterday.

Steve Bosevski, 35, said he was arrested for assault but was never charged and the police never explained why they had taken him away after a violent brawl erupted at the club on October 4 last year that left his twin brother, Steven, dead.

Mr Bosevski told an inquest yesterday that he had argued with a man shortly before the brawl but there had been no physical violence between them or anyone else before police arrived on the scene and used batons, capsicum spray and stun guns on the crowd.

The two brothers were so close that they still slept head-to-toe in the same bed at the Arncliffe home of their parents, Mr Bosevski told Glebe Coroner's Court yesterday.

The three-week inquest is examining the circumstances of Steven Bosevski's death, including if his fragile medical state had any significance and whether police used reasonable force. He had been held face down by two security guards and two police officers for four minutes, the court has heard.

An autopsy found he died from a combination of methylamphetamine toxicity and hypertensive heart disease.

Mr Bosevski broke down yesterday as he told of the moment he realised his twin was lying motionless on the floor with officers trying to revive him and he was prevented from going to him. "I said: 'please let me go and call my brother because, if he hears my voice, if he has any life in him he'll come back', and he [a police officer] said: 'you shut the f--- up'," Mr Bosevski said.

He said his eyes "burnt like hell" from the capsicum spray.

His brother, Tony, had moments earlier been shot with a stun gun, he said. "I've never heard him [Tony] scream in my life the way he screamed in that much pain; it hurt me…"

Mr Bosevski said he had been out on the terrace when police approached him and asked him to leave but did not explain why. He said he was pushed twice from behind by an officer. "I said: 'hey, what are you doing? I told you we are leaving' … he got out his capsicum spray and he got me in the eyes."

Philip Biggins, appearing for police, put to Mr Bosevski that on three occasions he had been asked by security guards to move away from the bar area and that, after he had argued with Robert Hristovski, a security guard said to him: "calm down or leave".

"No, no, that's wrong," Mr Bosevski said.

Mr Biggins said that one of his group said: 'they're f---ing kicking us out' and one of you said 'let's f---en go back in'. You deny that?"

"It didn't happen."

Appearing for the family, Winston Terracini, SC, asked Mr Bosevski if at any point security, police or club staff had asked him to leave because he was intoxicated or because of bad behaviour. "No," he replied. He said he was "not at all" intoxicated. The inquest continues.

SOURCE

2011-06-24T10:45:00.001+10:00

Crooked NSW cops in desperate coverup attempt

AN UNPRECEDENTED attempt by the NSW Crime Commission's to silence a public inquiry into its internal affairs by a corruption watchdog has cost NSW taxpayers more than $386,000.

Since last year, the Police Integrity Commission has been investigating the way the NSW Crime Commission has been confiscating criminal proceeds and carving up legal fees for both itself and solicitors representing commission targets.

Public hearings were scheduled to begin on Monday, but the PIC announced yesterday that the hearings would be postponed for a second time, until July.

Its investigation, dubbed Operation Winjana, has focused on the actions of a senior Crime Commission financial analyst, Lou Novakovic, and his girlfriend, Salina Sadiq, a criminal defence lawyer who has represented commission witnesses.

But the investigation has been bitterly contested by the Crime Commission boss, Phillip Bradley. After repeated attempts behind closed doors to stop the inquiry failed, Mr Bradley unsuccessfully sued the PIC in the NSW Supreme Court, alleging it had overstepped its powers.

In all, Mr Bradley spent $174,768.28 on lawyers to fight the court action, according to figures released by the Premier's office this week. The PIC, in defending itself, spent another $211,649.

In May Justice Stephen Rothman dismissed the litigation and the acting PIC head, Jerrold Cripps, QC, announced that the public hearings would go ahead.

In one of his judgments, Justice Rothman said: "No doubt these issues can be resolved, as they once were, by referring disputes between statutory bodies to the Solicitor-General."

In February a Herald investigation revealed the Crime Commission had been sharing the proceeds of crime with known criminals, cutting deals that allow them to walk away with millions of dollars.

Instead of litigating in open court to confiscate all proceeds of crime, the commission has been settling most cases by consent for a lesser amount and often before a defendant appears on a criminal charge. For senior underworld figures, it has become a cost of doing business.

The PIC will hear evidence about whether Mr Novakovic "or any other person associated with him is or has been involved in criminal activity or serious misconduct", the PIC has said.

Winjana will also "examine the practices and procedures of the NSW Crime Commission in the conduct of actions under the Criminal Assets Recovery Act 1990".

SOURCE

2011-06-23T10:08:00.001+10:00

Vic police chief faces new probe on police statistics

THE Ombudsman is investigating why former Victorian Police Commissioner Simon Overland and Victoria Police refused to release two independent reports on violent crime and public safety only days before last year's cliff-hanger state election.

The reports called for reforms that were at odds with the policies of the then-Brumby Labor government and were not supported by Mr Overland, the then-chief commissioner, and his leadership team, The Australian reports.

This investigation is the second to probe the links between senior ranks of Victoria Police and the Brumby government before the November 27 Victorian election. Last week, a damning report from Ombudsman George Brouwer criticised Mr Overland over the release of questionable crime figures in the lead-up to that election. That report allegedly prompted Police Minister Peter Ryan to persuade Mr Overland to resign.

However, The Australian understands that a second Ombudsman's inquiry is currently under way into whether political considerations influenced decisions by police command before the state election.

The inquiry is believed to be looking at why Victoria Police reneged on a promise made to the Seven Network to provide two independent consultants' reports into drug and street crime in Melbourne's CBD in the week before the election.

One of the reports, Safer Victoria, written in 2009 by PricewaterhouseCoopers, recommended that a single Office of Public Safety be set up to promote a whole-of-government approach to tackling the rising incidence of crimes such as assaults, property damage and robbery. The report's findings were not backed by either the government or police.

Victoria Police claimed the findings of the Safer Victoria report were not endorsed by the force and that, if released, were "likely to be confused and misrepresented as the established views of Victoria Police and therefore mislead the public".

Police said the findings of the other report, SafeStreets, were also not endorsed by the force and that, if released, would "injure the public interest because it would promote pointless and capricious debate".

Seven's initial attempt in May last year to acquire the documents under Freedom of Information was denied when the reports were wrongly declared to be cabinet-in-confidence.

Seven appealed to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal and, in November, Victoria Police lawyers finally agreed to provide the documents in the week before the November 27 election.

During that week, Victoria Police refused to release the documents as promised, saying there were stakeholders who still needed to be informed.

Mr Overland has strongly denied the delay in the release of the reports was politically motivated.

It is understood the Ombudsman agreed to conduct a formal investigation into the matter after a complaint lodged by Seven.

A spokeswoman for Ombudsman Victoria declined to comment yesterday. The FOI editor for the Seven Network, Michael McKinnon, also declined to comment.

SOURCE

2011-06-22T20:57:00.001+10:00

Disgusting South Australian cop

An ex-community constable has been jailed after previously pleading guilty to 14 sex crimes against children in the 1970s and 1980s. Allan Gollan, 62, today was sentenced to 18 years in prison by a Judge in the Adelaide District Court.

Among the charges are two counts of gross indecency, three counts of indecent assault, carnal knowledge and possessing child pornography. Gollan was suspended from duty after 15 years when found in possession of the pornography in 2009.

The Adelaide District Court was told one of Gollan's victims was petrified at the sound of his voice and horrified at being left alone with him. Other victims told of being unable to trust men and being unable to have lasting relationships.

Judge Kevin Nicholson said Gollan had a dark past, terrorising his victims, one who was his own stepdaughter. "Your behaviour involved the predatory manipulation of your relationships with the children, your power of authority over them and their youthful naivety and fear," he said.

Judge Nicholson said Gollan was sexually abused as a child by his stepfather and had suffered physical and racial abuse during his upbringing. "There is no doubt you've suffered your fair share of hardship, abuse, depravation and tragedy," the judge said.

The court was told Gollan had alcohol problems, particularly during what he classified as his 'dark years' in the 1970s and 80s, but had been sober since the early 1990s.

Judge Nicholson said he accepted Gollan was a completely different person from the man who committed the offences but said child pornography found on his computer recently was of concern when considering his rehabilitation prospects.

"Mr Gollan, I accept you have acknowledged the sexual abuse you committed and you are genuinely sorry," he said. He told Gollan he was mindful that any period of imprisonment was "likely to consume many, possibly all, of the years you have remaining". "On the other hand, you've been able to enjoy the best part of your life living freely in the community."

Judge Nicholson said he considered imposing a suspended sentence, given Gollan's attempts to change his life and the important role he played in caring for his wife, who suffered from various physical and mental conditions. But he said the seriousness of the offences meant there would be little chance for a suspended sentence.

He set a non-parole term of 10 years and six months, backdated to when Gollan was taken into custody.

His stepdaughter appeared outside court and consented to speaking with 7News on her relief at his sentence. "I was actually thinking he’d get a lot less than he did, so I’m actually very happy," she said. "More importantly I’m just glad it’s all over with for now... For me, it’s the end, may his nightmare begin now and he can have what we had, which was hell."

She said she didn't forgive him, and his apologies in court meant nothing to her. "He’s had years to apologise to me, years... Only now that he’s got caught with his hand in the pot that he wants to say he’s sorry, it’s not worth anything to me," she said. "I hate him, not only for what he did to me, but for the ongoing effects that still happen now – that’s what I hate. I hate that I can’t function within my family, I have no external family. He took everything."

SOURCE

2011-06-22T14:03:00.001+10:00

Two Queensland cops face sack for unauthorised use of police computers

TOP brass are poised to sack two cops for accessing the details of private citizens from the police database. While details remain sketchy, the nature of the offences - which are unrelated - is serious enough for the careers of both policemen to be put on hold.

The first involves a sergeant, 52, from the Far North policing region, which takes in Cairns and Cape York. Police said in a statement that he "inappropriately accessed information on the QPS computer system without authorisation".

The second involves a constable, 28, from the Northern policing region, which takes in Townsville and Mt Isa. "The stand down action relates to allegations of domestic violence and misuse of the QPS computer system," police said.

The Queensland Police Service computer database, Q-Prime, stores the criminal and private details of Queenslanders and it is an offence for an officer to access information without a valid work-related reason.

Ethical Standards Command investigated both incidents and the police executive decided on the current disciplinary actions. The officers have the right to fight the actions taken against them.

SOURCE

2011-06-16T16:52:00.001+10:00

Gone at last

Victoria's chief police commissioner Simon Overland says he resigned because the recent controversies engulfing the force made it counterproductive for him to continue. Mr Overland's resignation came hours after the release of a Victorian ombudsman's report which found he was solely responsible for releasing misleading and inconsistent crime statistics before the last state election.

But he told a press conference the report was not the straw that broke the camel's back, rather, his resignation was a culmination of months of controversy that was distracting for the organisation. "I now regrettably find myself in a position where I believe it's in the best interests of Victoria and Victoria Police that I leave," Mr Overland told reporters on Thursday.

"I've always sought to act in the best interests of the organisation in an honourable way and I believe this is the appropriate thing to do.

"There's been a lot of distractions in the last little while and it seems to me they are unlikely to abate. "It got to a position where my continuing in the role was counterproductive to the best interests of the organisation."

Mr Overland was supported by a contingent of senior police and other staff members during the press conference at the Victoria Police Centre. Some of his support staff were in tears. He said he was not pressured to resign by the government.

About an hour earlier, the news that he would be resigning broke at a press conference with Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu and Deputy Premier Peter Ryan.

Mr Ryan said he rang Mr Overland on Wednesday night and expressed his concerns over the ombudsman's report. When pressed on whether he asked or told Mr Overland to resign, Mr Ryan refused to reveal the details of their conversation. "We talked about the content of the report, he then indicated his intention to resign and I indicated the government's preparedness to accept that resignation," he said.

Mr Overland has for months insisted he intended to serve out his contract, which was due to expire in less than three years.

The resignation of Mr Overland comes after months of pressure on the police chief commissioner. Although standing by Mr Overland, the state government had ordered an investigation into senior command of Victoria Police after Mr Overland forced out his deputy Sir Ken Jones.

Mr Overland ordered Sir Ken to leave Victoria Police three months before he intended to quit, for reasons that were never fully explained. It was also confirmed that after a complaint from Mr Overland and others the state's police watchdog, the Office of Police Integrity, had been tapping Sir Ken's phones.

Mr Baillieu said there would be an appropriate selection process before the next chief commissioner was appointed and consultants would be used. When asked whether Sir Ken would be in the running, Mr Baillieu replied: "Well the process will be available to anybody who seeks to apply and we wouldn't be seeking to make any comment about that."

Mr Baillieu said the government wanted to appoint a new chief commissioner as soon as possible.

Deputy commissioner Ken Lay will be acting chief commissioner. Mr Overland's resignation officially takes effect from July 1, but he will go on leave at the end of the working day on Thursday.

Source

2011-06-11T07:57:00.001+10:00

AFP in the spotlight again

Firming up the impression of a rogue agency

AUSTRALIAN Federal Police boss Tony Negus took his secretary on a taxpayer-funded business-class trip to Singapore and India last year on official police business.

The trip to Singapore last July was to attend a meeting of Asia Pacific Group on money laundering. The pair then went on to India for the opening of the AFP's New Delhi office.

The 31-year-old Tamerra Mackell also travelled with Mr Negus on an official visit to Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia in February this year.

It is unusual for secretaries such as Ms Mackell to travel overseas for work. The executive assistant to Mr Negus' predecessor, Mick Keelty, did not often travel with him.

Mr Keelty usually travelled with a "staff officer" - a uniformed AFP officer who is a member of the Senior Executive Service, the highest ranks of the public service.

Mr Keelty's executive assistant did sometimes accompany her husband Peter McEwan, who was Mr Keelty's staff officer.

The AFP said in a statement that, up until January 2011, the commissioner did not have an executive officer or staff officer and Mr Negus had taken his executive assistant to Singapore and India to provide "an administrative support role".

Ms Mackell is a civilian employee, an unsworn AFP worker.

She joined the AFP in January 2008 as executive assistant to the manager of specialist groups and was promoted to work as the commissioner's secretary when he began in the role in September 2009.

As executive assistant to the commissioner, Ms Mackell manages the office environment and administration and liaises with other senior police, the AFP said.

Asked if Ms Mackell had any formal academic qualifications for her role as executive assistant, an AFP spokeswoman said she had completed a certificate in business administration at a business college.

Despite her lack of formal qualifications, Ms Mackell was given a promotion in January to the newly created - and more senior position - of executive officer. In her new role she is charged with delivering "high-level executive support".

The AFP said Ms Mackell's new position of executive officer was created "to provide support to" the 47-year-old commissioner, such as amending speeches when he is travelling overseas.

Lost in the reshuffle was the job of chief of staff, who had previously travelled with the commissioner....

Dr Michael Kennedy, head of the policing program at the University of Western Sydney, said there were few controls on who could accompany the federal police commissioner overseas. "The bottom line is that any federal police commissioner can sign a blank cheque. In NSW, there are so many controls on what the commissioner does that he could not take an executive assistant overseas."

More HERE

2011-06-08T15:55:00.001+10:00

NSW cops quick to get it wrong

Listening is too hard for them

It's not often that a magistrate apologises to a person appearing before them. But that's what happened to Musa Konneh last year. "The magistrate said: 'This boy is not meant to be here, why is he here?' The magistrate even said 'sorry' to me," the 19-year-old migrant from Sierra Leone recalled.

In the 12 hours before he appeared before court Mr Konneh had been falsely arrested, handcuffed, strip searched and spent a night in the police cells. Two officers knocked on his door at 9.30pm on a Saturday night and arrested him, insisting he had breached his bail conditions by not reporting to police. He tried to explain they were wrong, but to no avail.

In fact, Mr Konneh was no longer on bail, and his case - for allegedly riding on the train without a ticket - had been dismissed in the Children's Court four days earlier. While the court had a record of the decision, the police computer system, which is meant to receive information from the courts system Justicelink, had not been updated.

A class action was filed in the Supreme Court yesterday against the NSW government over this and other detentions. Mr Konneh is the first young person to join it. The case, launched jointly by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre and Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, will be open to other young people detained for a breach of bail conditions that were no longer in place at the time of the detention.

The case would seek to argue that it was "not reasonable" for police to rely on their COPS database when arresting young people for a breach of bail because the problem had been known for years, said Maurice Blackburn's NSW managing principal, Ben Slade. He said there could be at least 200 young people falsely arrested in similar conditions.

Fairfax reported in December that 22 people had been paid $2.7 million in compensation for wrongful arrest and false imprisonment because of the computer problem. The NSW Ombudsman last year reported three cases of Aboriginal men from Kempsey arrested for an alleged breach of bail conditions that were no longer in place.

Mr Slade said police were targeting "vulnerable young people" for the enforcement of bail conditions and Aboriginal children were over-represented among those falsely arrested. Police should only deprive children of their liberty as a last resort, he said.

He called on the government to fix the problem and "take responsibility for this wrongful conduct … and apologise to them and compensate them".

SOURCE

2011-06-08T12:32:00.001+10:00

Gutless NSW cops refuse to chase bandits

NIGHTCLUB baron Justin Hemmes had a gun put to his head during an armed robbery at one of his hotels last night. Hemmes was drinking at the recently purchased Excelsior Hotel in inner-city Surry Hills at 11pm when two men entered, armed with a screwdriver and gun and demanded cash.

A visibly shaken Hemmes told police at the scene that the men had a put a gun to his head before running out and jumping into a waiting car. "I had a gun put to my f**king head and when I chased them out, they jumped into a car and a guy shouted 'Go, go, go'," Mr Hemmes told officers.

Police from Surry Hills arrived as the bandits were making their escape from the scene. Sensing trouble, the men jumped into a black Audi station wagon before smashing into the parked police vehicle, forcing it out of the way and driving away at high speed.

It is believed that police did not give chase, instead choosing to secure the scene before circulating the area.

A clearly frustrated Hemmes was caught on camera arguing with police over why they failed to give chase. "You let them get away," Hemmes said to officers before asking whether it was for 'safety reasons'.

It is believed that the hold-up was the second robbery made by the men last night, after robbing the Rose of Australia Hotel in Erskineville fifteen minutes earlier.

Owned by Australia Hotels Association President, Scott Leach, the two men also threatened patrons before making off with a large amount of money.

SOURCE

2011-06-07T10:48:00.000+10:00

The rot at Victoria police continues

Sounds like Overland is a dead man walking

A SENIOR Baillieu Government whistleblower has formally complained to the Ombudsman about the activities of Chief Commissioner Simon Overland. The Government figure has accused Mr Overland and the Office of Police Integrity of abusing their power in their pursuit of Deputy Commissioner Sir Ken Jones.

The whistleblower has given information to Ombudsman George Brouwer detailing the alleged roles of Mr Overland and the OPI in having Sir Ken's phone bugged.

Mr Brouwer is investigating whether there was improper collusion between Mr Overland and the OPI, allegedly resulting in the intrusive powers of the OPI being unleashed on Sir Ken and his family. The Ombudsman's office has secretly interviewed the Baillieu Government figure and is in the process of interviewing others to try to corroborate the allegations.

Victoria Police yesterday said it was not possible for Mr Overland to comment. "Any investigation by the OPI is a matter for them and it would be wrong for us to comment on it. The same applies to any investigation by the Ombudsman," a force spokesman said.

Asked about the Ombudsman's probe into the OPI, its director Michael Strong said he was satisfied that "every step taken in this investigation has been taken in good faith and on appropriate grounds".

A spokeswoman for Premier Ted Baillieu said it was inappropriate for the Government to comment on the Ombudsman's inquiry.

If the whistelblower's allegations proved correct the Ombudsman's findings, expected to be tabled in State Parliament, could provide the trigger for the Baillieu Government to replace Mr Overland.

Another potentially explosive Ombudsman's report into allegations senior Victoria Police officers were pressured to release favourable crime statistics in the lead-up to last year's state election, as a boost to the former Labor government, is also expected to provide more anti-Overland ammunition for the Baillieu Government.

The Herald Sun has revealed Sir Ken felt betrayed after allegedly becoming unwittingly caught in the middle of political dirty dealing. He was so concerned after meetings with Premier Ted Baillieu's right-hand man that he sought Police Association boss Greg Davies for advice.

Sen-Sgt Davies, who told Police Minister Peter Ryan about the meeting after Sir Ken raised concerns with him, said Sir Ken felt he was being used.

Mr Ryan yesterday said neither he nor Mr Baillieu were aware of the meeting between Baillieu adviser Michael Kapel and Sir Ken when it happened. The Premier defended Mr Kapel's action as a normal practice of government.

SOURCE

2011-06-06T19:30:00.001+10:00

More police secrecy

OPI evidence on phone tapping will never be seen

THE evidence in an Office of Police Integrity affidavit understood to have been used to justify taps on the telephones of former Victorian deputy police commissioner Ken Jones and his wife will never be disclosed.

Senior lawyers told The Weekend Australian this meant career-threatening allegations lacking in substance and motivated by malice were easily "sexed up" to persuade a relatively junior judicial officer to permit telephone taps.

The inability of an oversight body in Victoria to independently test allegations in the secret affidavit material means those making the claims cannot be held accountable for exaggerating.

A former OPI officer has told how "speculative" and misleading innuendo would be dressed up as factual intelligence in affidavits presented to a member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal to obtain telephone tap permission.

Senior Victorian lawyer Phillip Priest QC said a "public interest immunity" shield made it impossible for any person whose telephone was tapped to show that the supporting allegations were questionable, and to test whether there was ever any foundation for the tap.

The warrant that was granted when former assistant commissioner Noel Ashby's telephones and those of his wife and children were tapped by the OPI states he was suspected of "bribery and corruption".

But there were no bribery allegations made in subsequent public hearings and investigations. There were no charges of corruption after Mr Ashby's career and reputation had been destroyed.

Mr Priest said the reported tapping of the telephones of Sir Ken had "uncanny echoes" of the Ashby case. In a legal memorandum at the time, Mr Priest called the OPI's conduct corrupt.

"There should have been a judicial inquiry into the Ashby case," he said yesterday. "As a result of these most recent events, I think the strength of that call must surely gain momentum."

Mr Priest, who successfully defended Mr Ashby, said that with affidavits for telephone taps "the real problem is the potential for abuse, because nobody is able to get access to the material".

"There is a lack of accountability, and the secrecy creates the potential for the abuse," he said.

"They can put whatever they like in an affidavit and nobody else can ever see it -- there is nobody on the other side to question it.

"When we cross-examined one of the OPI officers about the allegations with Ashby, we heard there was no evidence of bribery, and the alleged corruption turned out to be an association with (police union chief) Paul Mullett.

"There needs to be much better oversight. The courts should have the power to look at the affidavits in support of warrants for telephone taps. Recent events have shown we need a royal commission or a judicial inquiry."

Queensland criminal lawyer Terry O'Gorman, who heads the Australian Council for Civil Liberties, said there were only 26 refusals out of more than 10,000 telephone tap applications granted to police and anti-corruption organisations across Australia in the past three years.

"Members of the AAT and judges are used to make respectable a regime where telephone taps are granted 99.9 per cent of the time," he said.

"These applications and the affidavits that support them are just taken for granted in situations where there is no judicial supervision and no contrary input, and this means nobody is watching what the police and the anti-corruption bodies are doing.

"It is very difficult to vet the affidavits when only one side is presented. Every time lawyers try to obtain the allegations, the police and prosecutors chime in unison 'public interest immunity'."

Mr O'Gorman described public interest immunity over telephone taps as "an effective veil they hide behind, and which too many judicial officers go along with".

SOURCE

2011-06-05T16:32:00.000+10:00

Victoria police rotting from the top down

THE moment law enforcement in Victoria became, in the words of Police Association head Greg Davies, the laughing stock of the nation, can be traced to a series of extraordinary events on a Friday afternoon four weeks ago.

The trail from that day has led investigators to ask whether law enforcement in Victoria is rotting from the head, mired in a swirl of cosy relationships, abuses of power and political vendettas -- a modern version of the dark days when the state's Special Branch spied and created dossiers on anyone deemed to be their enemy.

On May 6, police chief Simon Overland walked into the Collins Street headquarters of the Office of Police Integrity and asked the watchdog to investigate his deputy, Ken Jones.

Jones had been knighted for his services to British policing and was widely seen as a likely successor to Overland. But his chief is believed to have suspected Jones of leaking sensitive information to undermine his position.

Overland then went back to police headquarters and ordered Jones to leave the force immediately. It was an act that so stunned the Baillieu government it ordered Jack Rush QC to investigate "police command structure", which is a fig-leaf for investigating the behaviour of the Labor-appointed Chief Commissioner.

Yesterday, the plot thickened when the OPI confirmed reports that it was investigating "a high-ranking Victoria Police officer currently on leave" -- a clear reference to Jones.

At the same time, the Ombudsman, George Brouwer, is reported to have begun his own investigation into the OPI's use of power.

Victoria now faces the tragi-comedy of having its police watchdog investigating the former deputy police chief at the request of the police chief, while the Ombudsman is investigating the behaviour of the police watchdog.

Meanwhile, Overland -- the man who initiated the crisis -- is the subject of the government-commissioned investigation by Rush as well as an Ombudsman's investigation into whether crime figures were manipulated on the eve of last's year state election.

Davies says yesterday's confirmation of the OPI investigation into Jones was a tipping point for Victoria. "This would appear to be one of the greatest abuses of power in the history of this state," the union chief said.

"The most invasive investigative tool put into place because a person dared to criticise their boss. Well heaven forbid any Australian would ever do that. We'd all have our phones intercepted.

"We have now reached the stage where the government has to do something. We have got law and order in this state in disarray."

The Baillieu government is holding its tongue for now, but it is also dismayed by the events and is angry at reports the OPI has bugged the phones of at least one staff member of a ministerial office as part its investigation into Jones.

The OPI is also said to have bugged the phones of Jones and his wife, as well as friends and colleagues.

OPI director Michael Strong yesterday defended his organisation, saying he was satisfied the investigation was initiated in good faith and on appropriate grounds.

Strong also denied that the investigation was "initiated solely" by information provided by Overland, but he pointedly declined to quash media reports that Overland requested the probe into his deputy.

The secretive nature of the OPI means we may never know the truth, but the Jones affair has served only to fuel the public perception that the OPI and Overland have an uncomfortably close relationship.

The OPI has aggressively pursued several of Overland's enemies or rivals, including former police union boss Paul Mullett and former assistant police commissioner Noel Ashby.

The OPI bugged their phones as part of an investigation into police corruption, but rather than wait until claims against them could be tested in court, the OPI held a public hearing that played telephone intercepts revealing their disdain for Overland and former police chief Christine Nixon. The OPI's tactics effectively ended their police careers, but neither Ashby nor Mullett were convicted.

Conversely, the OPI has appeared reluctant to examine allegations against Overland.

When Overland admitted to passing on information from secret phone taps during the 2007 police corruption investigation, Operation Briars, the OPI conducted only a cursory examination behind closed doors before clearing the Chief Commissioner.

The OPI will be disbanded later this year after a string of failed prosecutions. Its reputation has been tainted by its refusal to stay above the fray of Victoria Police politics.

It has been quick to launch probes in relation to leaks that have embarrassed Overland and has used its powers aggressively to subpoena journalists into star chambers, tap their phones and place them under surveillance.

Overland confirmed last September that police had covertly investigated the phone records of journalists at the Herald Sun in relation to a story that caused short-term embarrassment to the force.

Mullett and Ashby have alleged that Overland is too cosy with the OPI and that he is mates with several of its senior staff.

Davies said yesterday that Overland was a close friend of OPI deputy director Paul Jevtovic, the OPI's acting director when the decision was made to investigate Jones.

Strong said yesterday that any implication the OPI had launched the Jones investigation because of a friendship between Overland and Jevtovic was "false and, in my opinion, defamatory".

But the OPI is on the nose with the Victorian public and Overland is aware of the criticism that he is too close to the agency. So why would Overland risk fuelling this perception by asking the OPI to probe his own deputy rather than bypassing the OPI and contacting either the Ombudsman or even Police Minister Peter Ryan?

Both Overland and the OPI will be able to justify their actions only if a serious crime is uncovered.

If not, then they will be seen as having needlessly derailed the so-far sparkling police career of a man who is reported to have been in contention to head the state's new anti-corruption body, which will replace the OPI.

Media reports about why Overland may have been unhappy with Jones have so far speculated about possible low-level alleged media leaks in relation to the death of Carl Williams and the handling of crime statistics.

If that is all there is, then the actions of Overland and the OPI will appear churlish and politically motivated.

It would almost certainly end Overland's career.

It would also further endorse the Bailleau's government's decision to axe the OPI, which has drifted from its central charter of investigating serious police corruption to a focus on solving embarrassing media leaks.

SOURCE

2011-06-05T12:19:00.001+10:00

Victoria Police teaching standards labelled 'backward'

New police recruits are being taught by instructors with no practical on-the-job experience. Victoria Police has employed 13 unsworn educators - who have never been officers - to help train the additional 1700 cops promised by the State Government by November 2014. A further 11 are ex-police staff, including a ballet dancer with no legal qualifications, who is teaching law.

It is the first time non-sworn officers are being used to teach the next generation of cops. A maths and biology teacher, who has never been an officer, has also been employed. At least five recruits have complained about an unsworn educator not being fit to teach and sworn staff members have also made official objections, it was confirmed.

And now the unprecedented decision has been labelled "backward" and "wrong on every level" by the police union. It has complained to Chief Commissioner Simon Overland, saying the move is "offensive", "diminishes the profession" and will "inevitably lower standards".

"Academy instructors with no practical policing experience cannot possibly prepare our police recruits to be effective police professionals. The mere suggestion is offensive to police officers," Police Association assistant secretary Bruce McKenzie said.

"The legal, medical and other professions involve experienced practitioners teaching their new and inexperienced members. "Policing is no different and to do otherwise will inevitably see a lowering of the standards of future police practitioners. It also seriously diminishes our profession."

Recruits spend 33 weeks training at the Glen Waverley academy.

Victoria Police has denied it is a cost-cutting measure but conceded "unsworn members are paid less than sworn members". It also rejected allegations that unsworn educators had been unable to answer questions from recruits, but admitted sworn teachers are sitting in on classes led by unsworn instructors.

SOURCE