Saturday, February 2, 2013

Man sues four police officers after tussle over mobile phone footage


A MAN who filmed police arresting a stranger and refused to hand over his mobile phone footage is suing four officers for $1.25 million for breaking his arm and false arrest.


Lee Hobbs claims in Supreme Court documents his problems began after he used his phone to film several police arresting another man in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley two years ago.


Mr Hobbs, who was charged after refusing to give police his phone, claims in the court documents three officers held him face-down on the floor of the Valley Police Beat, while one wrenched his arm, fracturing it.

Two charges of obstructing police and an assaulting police charge were withdrawn when the case went to court three months later.

Mr Hobbs, 33, later made a complaint to police about Constable Daniel Corliss, who he alleges broke his arm, his court claim says.

His claim says he was the victim of unlawful arrest, malicious prosecution, assault by police using excessive force and false imprisonment. Mr Hobbs developed a psychiatric condition and was dismissed from his job of five years last year as a result, the court claim said.

Mr Hobbs's claim, filed by law firm Maurice Blackburn, alleged the ``real purpose'' behind the confiscation of his phone was to check if there was evidence of excessive force used by police during the other man's arrest.
Mr Hobbs's claim said soon after he began filming the arrest, about 4am on October 10, 2010, Constable Corliss spoke to him, telling him he would charge him with obstructing police if he talked over him. Mr Hobbs claims Constable Corliss then told him he was allowed to seize his phone because it had evidence on it.
When Mr Hobbs refused the request he was told he was under arrest for obstructing police, the claim said.

It is alleged the arrest was ``unlawful'' because the officer did not follow requirements under the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act. Mr Hobbs's claim is against the state and officers Daniel Corliss, Daniel Haddadi, Stuart McIntyre and Nathanial Truong, who are yet to file a defence.

A police spokesman said the matter was investigated by Ethical Standards Command and overviewed by the Crime and Misconduct Commission, who concurred there was insufficient evidence to substantiate Mr Hobbs's claims.
 
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/man-sues-four-police-officers-after-tussle-over-mobile-phone-footage/story-e6freoof-1226567042847


Sunday, January 20, 2013

Criminal Victorian cops allowed to quit as loophole lets them keep their super




A POLICEMAN who raped two children under the age of 10 was spared jail and is among more than 20 disgraced Victorian officers convicted of a crime.

The senior constable resigned from the force after receiving a two years and six month wholly suspended sentence for the child sex charges.

In total, 23 rogue officers have been found guilty of a crime since January 2010 and more are being prosecuted in Victoria's courts. Only three officers have been officially dismissed from the force. The 50 charges faced by officers include manufacturing child pornography, drug trafficking, assault and rape.

Up to 16 of the criminal cops were allowed to resign instead of being sacked, and so will receive their super.

Three remain employed by Victoria Police.

The Sunday Herald Sun has revealed more than 9500 allegations of criminal acts, bad behaviour and duty failures were made against serving members in 2009-11.

One in five allegations about bent cops were made by other police, and one in 10 were substantiated when investigated.

Assistant Commissioner Emmett Dunne of the professional standards section defended the low number of dismissals, saying it was in the public interest to allow officers to quit.

"We accept resignations when submitted because it is a waste of resources . . . we follow the directions of the OPI. There is no formal benefit for a member to resign or retire."

One guilty leading senior constable was allowed to retire despite being sent to prison for installing surveillance tools and manufacturing child pornography. Another, guilty of threats to kill and assault who served four months in jail, is still employed with no pay restrictions.

Mr Dunne said some of the cases were related to gang activity. Relationships between police and criminal suspects were closely monitored, he said.

He declined to provide the number of such links, saying they were confidential.

Legal experts claim corrupt cops regularly used a loophole to keep their hefty superannuation.

Tamar Hopkins, principal solicitor from Flemington and Kensington Community Legal Centre, said officers who resigned before being terminated kept access to their accounts.


 http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/national/criminal-cops-allowed-to-quit-as-loophole-lets-them-keep-their-super/story-fndo1wyv-1226557356465


Saturday, January 19, 2013

Qld. man on obstructing police charge claims officers bashed him




Timothy William Barker shows his injuries.

A MOUNTAIN Creek man facing one charge of obstructing police says he was savagely bashed by officers during his arrest.

Lawyer Adrian Hawkes alleged that his client, Timothy William Barker, 28, was assaulted while being arrested on Christmas Day.

"My client has been seriously attacked by the two officers," Mr Hawkes told Maroochydore Magistrates Court.

Magistrate Bernadette Callaghan said there were mechanisms in place to respond to such allegations.

"If your client has a complaint against the police, he should take it to the CMC," she said.

"He already has," Mr Hawkes responded.

Ms Callaghan adjourned the matter to February 11 to enable case-conferencing between both parties, a direction Mr Hawkes opposed.

The events leading to Mr Barker's arrest were not clarified in court yesterday.

Mr Hawkes said he took photos of the injuries when Mr Barker was released from Maroochydore watchhouse.

He said his client unsuccessfully asked police on Boxing Day to drop the obstruction charge.

SOURCE


Qld. cop kills another cop over drugs?




I don't know much about this but a man claims that in 1988 he saw  Qld. Assistant Police Commissioner Paul Wilson murder a uniformed police officer then leave the scene of the murder (in Airlie Beach North Queensland) looking like  a suicide.

Shortly afterwards Wilson and underworld associates allegedly stole 2 tons of confiscated cocaine from Airlie Beach police station.  When asked about the missing drugs, the cops simply said,  "We can't find it. It's been lost..."

The witness was subsequently savagely beaten in an apparent attempt to shut him up.  He has tried various avenues to draw attention to his matters but has hit a brick wall throughout, not very surprisingly.

The claims are in an eBook available on Amazon here ... which see  -- JR



Qld Police Commissioner Stewart‏



An interesting email received

Commissioner Stewart is currently under investigation by the Anti-discrimination Commission for acts of reprisal against police officer, Senior Constable Lyn Jones for participating in a public interest disclosure.

The public interest disclosure concerned a forensic officer from the Fingerprint Bureau Brisbane stealing from a crime scene.  The incident was reported to senior management at the Fingerprint Bureau, Inspector Brendan Keleher and Inspector Tony Carstensen, who then bullied staff not to report the incident as they had both applied for promotion and "didn't want anything interferring in their promotional prospects".

After disclosing the incident to Ethical Standard Command, S/C Jones was advised by Senior Sergeant Blair Webber at the Fingerprint Bureau that the senior officers were "drumming up" complaints against her to "get rid of her".  Five (5) months later S/C Jones was managerially transferred from the fingerprint bureau under allegations of complaints made against her.  One (1) month later she was suspended without pay in relation to false complaints submitted by Sergeant David Reece, Sergeant Waldo Kowalsky and S/Sgt Blair Webber of the fingerprint bureau.

The complaints were investigated by Inspector Ray Rohweder who is a known associate and mate of S/Sgt Webber.  Rohweder was also under investigation, at that time, for threating and bullying staff.  After being found guilty of these offences, Rohweder was managerially transferred from Ethical Standard Command, but made sure he took S/C Jones' disciplinary file with him.   Rohweder then continued to "drum up" complaints against her.

Three (3) years later S/C Jones is still suspended without pay on false complaints.  To date, her disciplinary file is over 1000 pages as Inspector Rohweder collects statements from "rent a crowd".

CMC advised S/C Jones in March 2012 that "from the documents ESC had provided it was quite obvious that the QPS was trying to get rid of her as she had been labelled a 'trouble maker' for being a whistleblower".

The public should hear not only about the bad cops, but what happens to the good cops who dob them in.  Officer who particpate in a public interest disclosures and tell the truth get bastardised by management, receive death threats and labelled "dogs".   If we keep our mouths shut we get dismissed from the service for not dobbing them in.  In other words, we're dammed if we do and dammed if we don't.

But S/C Jones is not one for being bullied by the "boys club" and has submitted a complaint to the Anti-Discrimination Commission for the QPS's acts of reprisal.   I wish her luck, but she's more likely to "disappear" like S/Sgt Mike Isles before they'll let her win.
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Tuesday, January 15, 2013


CMC says police officer got off lightly after 'forgetting' to act on tip-off

Qld. Police negligence leads to death

THE CMC has accused the police service of failing to appropriately discipline an officer whose inaction may have contributed to the death of a missing man.

Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal documents show that Barry Powell, 64, was still alive and would have been for at least another 24 hours when a local rang police to report sighting an abandoned vehicle at Wyandra in the state's southwest that belonged to Mr Powell on December 6, 2009.

His body was eventually discovered nearby in dense bushland five days later.

The temperature at the time the vehicle was abandoned was about 40C.  He had been travelling with his dog, a black labrador, and at the time temperatures soared to more than 40C.

An internal police investigation found officer-in-charge of Augathella station, Sergeant Andrew Ernest Thomas, "failed to take appropriate action" after he was told of an abandoned vehicle.

"At about 8.30am on the 11th of December 2009 the body of Barry Frederick Powell was located in bushland approximately 650m northeast from his vehicle," Deputy Commissioner Ross Barnett said in a notice of formal finding dated November 20, 2012, lodged in QCAT.

"It is estimated Mr Powell was alive until the morning of December 8 2009."

Mr Barnett said Sgt Thomas failed to investigate or consider the likelihood that a person who abandoned the vehicle might need assistance and the consequences of them not receiving any, particularly after being "exposed to such environmental conditions".

Sgt Thomas received a two-year suspended sentence, so if any further acts of misconduct were committed, he would be demoted from sergeant to senior constable.

Sgt Thomas did not report the phone call to Charleville CIB until December 10 and a massive search involving SES and police on foot, horseback and motorcycles followed.

"Subsequent inquiries with the family of Mr Powell indicate that he was travelling from Western Australia to his residence in Hervey Bay following surgery," QCAT documents state.

"It is apparent from the evidence contained in the brief that Mr Powell was taking a considerable amount of medication for a number of pre-existing medical conditions."

In the hearing, Sgt Thomas said he "banged" his head on an airconditioner and forgot as other things "simply overtook" his mind.

He also argued the information he received related only "to a vehicle on the side of a road, not to a missing person" and he did not accept that a "sufficient nexus" existed between his failure to take appropriate action and Mr Powell's death.

"It logically follows that had you taken steps to have the report investigated, Mr Powell would have been located some time on 8th of December 2011," Mr Barnett stated in the disciplinary hearing.

However, due to the cause of death being undetermined and a ruling by the entomologist that the mPMI (minimum post-mortem interval) could not be provided because of "gross deficiencies in the collection of original evidence", Mr Barnett said he was unable to find clear "causal connection" between Sgt Thomas' inaction and Mr Powell's death.

The CMC argued to QCAT that the sanction did "not adequately reflect the gravity of the misconduct", which included a failure by Sgt Thomas to "protect the public, uphold ethical standards within units of public administration, and promote and maintain public confidence in the QPS".

Sgt Thomas was transferred from Augathella to Toowoomba in January 2010.  QPS declined to comment while the matter was before QCAT.

The case is one of four appeals of QPS disciplinary decisions by the CMC before QCAT.

They include Constable Anthony Richard Francis, who was demoted after being found guilty of improper access to and disclosure of confidential police information, several conflicts of interest, failing to report misconduct by another officer and urinating on a police vehicle he was using as a "blue light taxi" after a boozy night out.

QCAT is due to make a decision on those matters next month.

The CMC won a landmark legal ruling last year when it was determined in Brisbane's Court of Appeal it had the authority to intervene if it considered police had not been properly punished by internal discipline.

The appeal court upheld the CMC's appeal which found QPS' punishment of an officer whose involvement in a high-speed car chase ended with the death of a bikie manifestly inadequate.

A date for the Sgt Thomas hearing is yet to be set but a compulsory conference is set for March 6.

SOURCE

Monday, January 14, 2013

Tweed police officer charged with misconduct after allegedly having sex at police station




A TWEED Coast policeman who allegedly had sex with a woman at the local police station has been charged with misconduct.

The officer's gun was allegedly used in the offence and he is also facing weapons charges.

Kingscliff officer Sergeant Mark Anthony Garner, 48, was charged with misconduct, possessing an unauthorised pistol and allowing an unauthorised person to possess a pistol.

He did not appear in Tweed Heads Local Court on Monday to answer the charges but was represented by a solicitor.

A police charge sheet alleged the offences happened at Kingscliff police station between 2am and 4am on September 16 in 2011.

Sgt Garner was charged in November after an internal investigation and has been suspended.

The misconduct charge alleges he had "sexual intercourse with a female at a police station whilst on duty and involving the misuse of a prohibited pistol" - his police-issue Glock.

He also allegedly "aided and abetted" the possession of the gun by the woman.

Sgt Garner is also charged with not taking reasonable precautions to ensure that the prohibited weapon did not come into the possession of an unauthorised person.

The case was adjourned to Lismore Local Court on March 19.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/tweed-police-officer-charged-with-misconduct-after-allegedly-having-sex-at-police-station/story-e6freoof-1226553371600

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Police account of fatal crash pursuit questioned




A witness to a Northern Territory Police road chase has rejected  claims that officers aborted their pursuit before the car they were following crashed, killing three people.

The crash happened three days before Christmas, on a stretch of road between Alice Springs and the remote community of Hermannsburg in Central Australia.

Two women and one man died in the tragedy.  Two other people were injured.

Police say they were chasing the car but ended their pursuit when speeds got too high.

Hermannsburg traditional owner Baydon Williams says he was near the side of the road with several others when the chase began.  "We seen the chase and the police car wasn't far off the other car," he said.

He says he heard the crash and believes police arrived at the scene seconds after it happened.

His niece and her husband were among those killed.

"Everyone thought that the rule ... was that the police should just leave people drive past when they're speeding," he said.  "That (is) what I heard the rule was supposed (to be) when ... the car is going fast, the policemen have got to let them go.

"But that never happened.  "They just kept on chasing."

Police Commissioner John McRoberts will fly from Darwin to Alice Springs tomorrow to follow investigations into the incident.

Police say they are unable to comment while investigations are taking place on behalf of the coroner.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-01-03/police-questioned-over-hermannsburg-pursuit-crash/4451292



Thursday, December 20, 2012





Police coverup of bungled Qld. prosecution

THE mother of a murder victim is furious Queensland police won't honour a promise to come clean about a failed investigation of the brutal 1999 killings.

Despite 12 years of police work and DNA evidence, police failed to secure convictions against two men accused of the killings of Ann-Maree Kropp and her partner Christopher Nancarrow at Springbrook on the Gold Coast.

The men were found to be not guilty, with no clear evidence of motive presented at the month-long trial in October 2011.

Police promised the Kropp family in January that the findings of an internal review into what went wrong "will be conveyed to you in due course".

But although the QPS has completed its probe, it has made no attempt to contact the family.

"We've heard nothing," Shirley Kropp, Ann-Maree's mother, said. "They've totally ignored us. It's just not good enough. I just wonder what they're trying to hide."

Mrs Kropp said she had heard through the Queensland Homicide Victim Support Group there had been errors in DNA sample collection.

It had also been a mistake to compel testimony from a forensic specialist who was experiencing psychological distress.

"They've got off blind because they stuffed up," she said.

But the QPS could not confirm the findings. It would say only that "a review of the of verdict" in the case "reinforced the Queensland Police Service's ongoing commitment to continuous improvement in terms of the investigation of serious crime".

A retired detective who initially worked the case said in 2011 that "police politics" had wrecked the investigation.

Paddy Fenely, a former Gold Coast CIB officer, said he had found 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.

But the investigation was transferred to another unit.

Under changes to Queensland's double jeopardy laws last year, murder cases can be reopened if "fresh and compelling" new evidence emerges.

Assistant Commissioner Mike Condon, who took over the investigation in 2007, said last month no further arrests should be expected and no one was being sought for questioning.


http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/mum-blasts-police-murder-investigation-stuff-up/story-e6freoof-1226540678644

Friday, December 14, 2012





Inquiry finds AFP officer handed out sensitive data
An Australian Federal Police agent found to have links to organised crime is facing the sack after a covert investigation by anti-corruption authorities.

The corruption watchdog is due to release a report on Friday that finds an AFP agent wrongly accessed and handed out sensitive police information.

It also finds he wrote character references under AFP letterhead, including for "acquaintances" facing criminal charges.

The officer was tracked using wire taps and physical surveillance, while investigators raided his home and work, and trawled through his emails and electronic documents. The agent began working with the force in 2002, but the accusations stem from his role as a community liaison officer in 2008 and 2009.

The Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity (ACLEI) was called in to investigate and found he allegedly had handed out sensitive police information to help associates locate a relative and a former school classmate obtain information about a car accident and progress immigration matters.

It also says he wrongly handed out official AFP character references to a range of acquaintances, including one charged with obstructing police and another charged with driving while his licence was suspended. He also allegedly gave references in relation to a domestic violence matter and in a private security licence application.

It is reported he deceived other officers and colleagues to help secure sensitive information. The agent used his position in the AFP to obtain information from other federal agencies and state police forces.

ACLEI also discovered he had undeclared links to serious and organised crime. But the investigation was unable to find any evidence that he had "materially or directly assisted any criminal enterprise".

The AFP first reported the agent to the corruption watchdog in 2009. He was suspended from duty in early 2010, after Integrity Commissioner Philip Moss warned the AFP of what the investigation had found.

The ACLEI's report, due to be released at lunchtime on Friday, recommends that he now be sacked. "Taken together, Federal Agent A's conduct demonstrated a consistent willingness to disregard his official duty and misuse the discretionary power entrusted to him in favour of advancing personal standing," Mr Moss wrote. "It is incomprehensible that an AFP appointee of any length of service would not know of the sensitivity of handling law enforcement information," he wrote.

An AFP spokeswoman said the agency was still considering what action it would take.

ACLEI's report noted the officer was seeking to hold the AFP liable. He claimed he was ignorant of AFP policy, had poor training and supervision, and was given "unrealistic and incompatible" expectations.

 http://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/inquiry-finds-afp-officer-handed-out-sensitive-data-20121213-2bd3q.html



NSW cop spared jail over Perth nightclub sex assault, but fined $7500

A DECORATED NSW police officer who sexually assaulted a young woman on a dance floor during an assignment to protect world leaders in Perth has been spared prison but is set to lose his job.

Ian Ronald Sleigh, 45, wept openly in the dock after he was convicted of sexually assaulting the 22-year-old daughter of a WA policeman he had met last October while in the state to work at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

Having drunk eight full strength beers on an empty stomach at the Elephant and Wheelbarrow nightspot in Northbridge, Sleigh put his hand up the skirt of the young woman before roughly groping her genitals.

The shocked woman immediately told other police in the pub what had happened, and Sleigh was arrested and initially charged with sexual penetration without consent.  That was replaced with a sexual assault charge, to which Sleigh pleaded guilty to on Monday.

Justice Bruce Goetze today fined Sleigh $7500 - an amount he said would go to the victim - but spared him a prison term, which he said would have been made doubly hard by his position as a police officer and convicted sex offender.

"You have suffered a severe amount of public humiliation ... which in your case has been amplified by reason of your position," Justice Goetze said.  "Prison is a penalty of last resort, and in my view this offence does not require a term of imprisonment.  "It is not an easy decision but that is the one I have come to."

Justice Goetze said the assault had left the young victim emotionally traumatised and needing ongoing counselling.

The court was also told - notwithstanding her family link to the police - that her view of the force had been changed by Sleigh's assault.

Earlier, Detective Inspector Peter McKenna, Sleigh's commanding officer in the Manning/Great Lakes area on the NSW mid-north coast, told the court his former colleague had been suspended without pay following his guilty plea.  He now faces the almost inevitable consequence of losing his job of 13 years.

Det Insp McKenna said while the force had been shocked and disgusted by Sleigh's conduct, he still had supporters within the police, and had been retained on desk duties while waiting for the case to come to court.

"He is disgusted with himself as to what has happened, and the flow-on effects to himself, his family and the NSW police," Det Insp McKenna said. "I can't emphasise how out of character this is.

"But my expectation is that he will be dismissed. The impact on the community is going to be immense."

The court heard Sleigh had been forced to sell his house to pay for the legal fees incurred during the case, and his teenage son had been teased and was undergoing counselling. Sleigh also had been physically ill through the stress of the case.

Sleigh said nothing as he left court.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/national/nsw-cop-spared-jail-over-perth-nightclub-sex-assault/story-fndo20fy-1226536261319

Sunday, December 9, 2012




Cop spills all on WA police

SEXIST, racist and trigger happy.  A former police officer has written a graphic account of life as a Perth cop in a new book that claims to blow the whistle on what really goes on behind the blue line.

The book, written under the pseudonym "Officer A" and called The Crime Factory, details several years the author spent in the WA Police after coming over in 2006 as part of a recruitment drive to lure British cops.

The book contains accusations of racism, brutality, bullying and binge drinking.

"Policing in Western Oz was like policing in the 1970s in the UK, but more violent, racist and sexist, and the cops had free use of guns and Tasers," it said.

Officer A, who worked in WA until early 2008, said local cops were trigger happy especially when it came to Tasers.

The chapter about his arrival in Perth is called: "Welcome to Hell".  "I'd quickly learnt that in Australia you were much more likely to be shot dead by a cop than get eaten by a shark," he said.

"A significant minority of officers tasered anybody that pissed them off, which was usually anyone with a different skin colour.  "I saw two officers attack a pair of harmless sailors. They were a bit drunk but were completely inoffensive."

He also recounts how his then wife who also came over to work in the force was sent out to execute an arrest warrant on a potentially violent criminal just moments after she told her manager she was pregnant.

The book alleges senior police made it clear the recruits were just a "doctor's quick fix".  "The local cops hated us," the author says.

The book traces Officer A's career in WA, starting out at a suburban police station before winning a transfer to a secretive intelligence division as a "covert officer" rounding up informants to take out the "baddest guys in the country".

He resigned in 2008 following an incident at a Perth pub, where he says a drunken officer verbally abused him,  then returned to Britain to work for the Surrey police force.

A WA Police spokesman said: "The claims in the book about policing in WA are hard to fathom and probably say more about the author than they do about WA Police.  "There is nothing in the book that gives WA Police any concern."

He said that between 2006 and 2009, 657 overseas officers were recruited in a "highly successful international recruitment campaign".  Just over a quarter of those recruits have since quit.

Last night, The Sunday Times spoke with the author of The Crime Factory who admitted to having a nervous breakdown after his return to the UK which he claims insiders were trying to use to discredit his book.

The breakdown led to a 2010 incident in which he made a drunken phone call from his police station to a colleague claiming that he was going to shoot himself. It caused the station to be stormed by police.

He was fined 500 pounds, but the court heard that during his police career he had won several awards.  "I had a breakdown," he said. "It happens. Prior to that I had an excellent service record."

He said the book had been a steady seller.

 http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/cop-spills-all-on-wa-police/story-e6freon6-1226532858410

Thursday, December 6, 2012



If these cops don't go to jail, nobody will

Two guys lying on the ground bothering nobody and the police come along and whale into them with no provocation



AN officer who struck two suspects with a baton during a city arrest now faces an official investigation.

South Australia's Police Complaints Authority will look at the actions of the officer and his partner after Seven News recorded the incident and aired the footage.

The men were sitting on the ground in Whitmore Square in central Adelaide when one officer struck them during their arrests at Whitmore Square about 2.30pm.

Witnesses said both men were pepper-sprayed before an officer struck one man twice with his baton and hit the other man three times.

A police spokesman said the officers were questioning the two men about alleged drug dealing.

Police have confirmed the Police Complaints Authority will investigate.

The arrested men have been charged with hindering and resisting police and one was also charged with assaulting a police officer and possessing drug paraphernalia


SOURCE

Monday, December 3, 2012




Shady police officers caught on the wrong side of the law in Queensland

A POLICE officer caught smuggling drugs from New Zealand and another who molested a boy are among a dozen police officers found on the wrong side of the law in Queensland in the past year.

The Courier-Mail can reveal that nine of the officers found guilty of crimes - which also included assault, excessive force, drink-driving and inappropriate behaviour - since July 1, 2011, are still working for the Queensland Police Service.

None was sacked, but the drug smuggler, pedophile and an officer who stole weed killer from a shop all quit, while another was suspended and two others were stood down from operational duties pending internal investigations.

Documents obtained under the Right to Information Act show an additional 16 officers suspected of official misconduct resigned before investigations were complete.

Those allegations related primarily to assault and excessive force with a weapon, corruption favouritism, victimisation and harassment and inappropriate behaviour.

    Offences included:

     *  Allegedly running a side business and getting a prisoner to help move house.

     *  Using police position to intimidate a vet into providing free treatment.

     *  Arresting and cuffing a man who was then punched "repeatedly in the face" and "smashed his head into a police van and kicked him in the back".

Most resignations meant that internal investigations were dropped, but Deputy Commissioner Ross Barnett said management would consider keeping them open when dismissal and demotion were a possible outcome and there weren't any criminal charges.

He said since 2010, QPS had only twice continued investigating police who had resigned - once for an officer who acted inappropriately and the other involving an officer accused of drug offences.

"In an organisation of over 10,600 officers, inevitably there are going to be issues from time to time," Deputy Commissioner Barnett said. "But I think the number of officers who come to attention for serious misconduct is very small."

He said the review into police discipline was stalled pending the outcome of the review into the Crime and Misconduct Commission.

"Everyone . . . who's in this area is keen that allegations of misconduct or criminal conduct are dealt with as soon as possible," he said.

SOURCE