NSW: Police change defence after video turns up

A group of police officers who allegedly broke the leg of an arts student and told her ''we don't care if it's legal'' have been allowed to change their defence at the eleventh hour after CCTV footage of the assault emerged.

Rachel Gardner is suing the NSW police force claiming she was kicked, sat on, handcuffed, pushed against a fence, loaded into a paddy wagon and then dumped at a nearby train station without charge after being caught without a train ticket on March 13, 2011.

Police initially denied the kick occurred but sought to amend their defence in the Sydney District Court on Monday, minutes before the beginning of a five-day trial, after Ms Gardner's legal team revealed they had obtained CCTV footage from Cronulla station.

On Tuesday, Judge Sharron Norton lambasted the force's barrister Matthew Hutchings for presenting an "entirely different" defence document on the morning of the trial but she allowed it and deferred the trial to November.

Ms Gardner, 36, was at Cronulla station with two tourist friends just before midnight when they were approached by transit officers and found to be without tickets.

An altercation ensued when the tourists couldn't produce identification and police attended. Ms Gardner claims that when she protested that one of the tourists was being pinned to the ground by a transit officer, Acting Sergeant Craig Sands kicked both her legs out from under her, breaking her right leg.

In her statement of claim, it is alleged Sergeant Sands then directed a transit officer to sit on her while she was lying face down on the platform before she was handcuffed, told she was under arrest and put in a paddy wagon.

When she objected to what she believed was an unlawful arrest, an officer said ''we don't care if this is legal'', the statement said. Ms Gardner was not taken to a police station and charged. Instead, she was driven to Sutherland railway station and ''left to fend for herself in a seriously injured condition''.

She is seeking damages of up to $750,000 for the injuries as well as the humiliation, disgrace, mental suffering, emotional distress, fear and anxiety, loss of social status and inconvenience caused by assault, false arrest and false imprisonment. A doctor's report says she will likely develop osteoarthritis within five to 10 years.

Her aspirations to become a filmmaker would also be hindered as well as attempts to get casual work while studying at the University of NSW College of Fine Arts, the court heard. Barrister Geoffrey Petty, SC, said the only record of the incident was a standard internal log that was ''brief in the extreme''. He said CCTV footage showed the kick ''as plain as daylight'' and also showed the officers chatting on the station as Ms Gardner limped away.

The police initially denied all Ms Gardner's claims and said she bit and kicked officers.

Mr Hutchings said this was because Ms Gardner's statement of claim was so vague and void of detail that it prevented them investigating the claims and preparing a proper response.

The trial will begin in November.

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/police-change-defence-after-allegedly-breaking-students-leg-over-ticket-20130923-2uaau.html

ACT: David Eastman murder case reopened

There has long been an odour about this case -- JR



Information suggesting David Harold Eastman might have been planning a ‘‘homicidal attack’’ on his trial judge was circulated to court staff in the lead up to the convicted murder's trial, an inquiry has heard.

The inquiry is trying to determine whether then chief justice Ken Carruthers had seen mental health reports on Eastman, and whether this could have created a perception of bias. A former registrar told the court on Monday that while the information had been circulated among staff, he had been careful not to tell Justice Carruthers.

Eastman was found guilty in 1995 of the 1989 murder of Assistant Australian Federal Police Commissioner Colin Winchester.

Mr Winchester was shot as he sat in his car in his neighbour’s driveway in Deakin one January night in 1989.

Eastman was found guilty of murder by a jury in 1995, and is serving life in the Alexander Maconochie Centre.

But the conviction of Eastman, who has maintained his innocence, is the subject of an inquiry that formally began hearing evidence on Monday.

That inquiry was ordered by judge Shane Marshall last year because he was satisfied there was ’’fresh doubt’’ about Eastman’s guilt.

The inquiry has begun by looking at the existence of a number of mental health reports on Eastman, compiled by Dr Rod Milton, and whether they may have been given to the judge overseeing his trial, chief justice Carruthers, without being formally tendered in court.

One of those reports detailed alleged threats by Eastman, and the risk he may have posed to court staff.

Former Supreme Court registrar Alan Towell was the first witness to give evidence to the inquiry on Monday.

Mr Towell said the contents of the reports were disseminated to various members of the court, but he had been careful not to give the reports to the trial judge.

The inquiry heard that Dr Milton’s reports contained information suggesting that Eastman was a ‘‘significant risk’’ to chief justice Carruthers.

It heard the reports contained information suggesting he may have planned a ‘‘homicidal attack’’ on his trial judge.

Earlier on Monday morning, counsel assisting the inquiry, Liesl Chapman, SC, gave an opening submission outlining the questions expected to be addressed in the proceedings.

She identified nine categories of evidence in the Crown’s case against Eastman that were expected to be examined in the inquiry.

Those included questions about the evidence of his alleged purchase of the .22 rifle used to shoot Winchester, as well as issues with the forensic evidence linking gunshot residue and particles found in Eastman’s car boot, to that found at the crime scene.

The inquiry would also look at the Crown’s claims about Eastman’s motives for the killing.

These had revolved around his expulsion from the public service and anger over a pending assault charge.

There were questions over the threats Eastman was alleged to have made concerning Mr Winchester to others, and his alleged searching of electoral records for the Assistant Commissioner’s home address.

It would look at issues with the supposed confessions made by Eastman, which were recorded by potentially illegal bugs placed in his home at a time when he may have been suffering severe mental health issues. The inquiry would examine whether other hypotheses for the killing, including the possible involvement of the Calabrian mafia, had been dismissed.

It would also look at questions around Eastman’s fitness to plead, given his mental illness, and whether it was properly considered by the court.

Further evidence from the then Supreme Court registrar and an AFP Assistant Commissioner is expected to be heard on Monday afternoon.


 http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/david-eastman-murder-inquiry-begins-20131111-2xbae.html

Chinese man 'crawled from Victoria police cell, found in puddle'

A man released from custody who later died in hospital had asked police for medical help twice before he was found by paramedics lying in a puddle outside the station, the Coroners Court has heard.

Chinese national Gong Ling Tang, 53, died in hospital from a gastrointestinal haemorrhage in May 2010, hours after being released from custody at the Dandenong police station.

Counsel assisting the coroner, Rachel Ellyard, said on the first day of the inquest into Mr Tang's death that he had been arrested after breaching an intervention order by visiting his wife at her house in Oakleigh.

He was drunk and had soiled himself when police found him a short distance from the house.

Police arrested Mr Tang for being drunk in a public place and planned to interview him about the alleged breach of the order when he was sober enough.

About 7.20pm, four hours after being placed in the cells, Mr Tang was interviewed through the metal flap in the cell door because of his soiled condition.

Ms Ellyard said there was blood in the cell and Mr Tang, speaking through a Mandarin interpreter, complained of abdominal pain and said he wanted to go home or to the hospital.

Mr Tang was released on bail but could not walk and crawled out of his cell before using the wall to help him stand.

Ms Ellyard said there was a "conflict" about whether arrangements had been made to transfer Mr Tang from the station.

Mr Tang was unable to leave the station by himself so was placed outside, barefoot, by two police about 8pm. He complained again of abdominal pain shortly afterward and an ambulance was called at 8.13pm.

Another call to the ambulance was made about 8.46pm by a police officer to report that Mr Tang's condition had deteriorated and the ambulance arrived nine minutes later.

Paramedics found Mr Tang drenched in water and lying unprotected in a puddle.

At hospital he was found to be suffering from hypothermia and had severe liver failure. He died at 11.30am the next day.

Deputy State Coroner Iain West heard from a lawyer representing one of the officers that Mr Tang's death should not be considered a death in custody, which is the basis for the inquest, because it was due to an existing condition. An application was also made for some officers not to give evidence.

Mr Tang had been admitted to hospital four or five times in the three years before his death because of the state of his liver, Deputy State Coroner West heard.

He also heard that Deputy Commissioner Tim Cartwright, who was in court, had submitted a letter from Victoria Police expressing "great regret about the circumstances" in which Mr Tang had died.

Deputy State Coroner West has adjourned the inquest to consider the application.

 http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/gong-ling-tang-crawled-from-police-cell-found-in-puddle-20131111-2xb39.html

Rough justice for 'whistleblower' cop in Surfers Paradise police station bashing

A POLICE sergeant accused of leaking video footage of fellow officers bashing a prisoner has been charged with misconduct - while the ­alleged perpetrators are yet to face action 20 months on.

Chef Noa Begic was allegedly bashed by a group of officers in the basement of Surfers Paradise police station in January 2012.

Video footage obtained exclusively by The Courier-Mail captured the shocking attack in full, but while two officers have been stood down over the incident awaiting an internal affairs investigation, the alleged whistleblower has been charged with police misconduct and will face a disciplinary hearing headed by Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski.

After an investigation by ethical standards, police will allege Sergeant Rick Flori "inappropriately obtained" official and confidential surveillance footage from the CCTV room of the Surfers Paradise police station and supplied it to the newspaper.

Sgt Flori's house was raided by police a few weeks later and he was transferred from the Surfers Paradise station.

He has now been charged with improper conduct and will face a hearing at a date to be fixed when he could face action including demotion.

In stark contrast, the two officers stood down over their alleged involvement in the shocking attack are yet to face any serious disciplinary action.

They were pulled from the front line after the newspaper broke the story and stood down from duty several months later, but they have not been formally charged.

The Courier-Mail yesterday asked the office of Police Commissioner Ian Stewart for comment on why the investigation into their conduct had dragged on so long, but only received a brief statement in response.

The statement says disciplinary allegations were "being considered by the Deputy Commissioner".

Mr Begic was enjoying a few drinks after work when he was arrested by a group of officers in the heart of the Surfers Paradise nightclub strip in January 2012.

He was charged with public nuisance and obstructing police, but the charges were eventually dropped.

Mr Begic has now engaged lawyers and plans to sue the Queensland Police Service.


http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/rough-justice-for-8216whistleblower8217-cop-in-surfers-paradise-police-station-bashing/story-fnihsrf2-1226738660065

Officer guilty of assault over police baton use

A South Australian police officer has been found guilty of aggravated assault for repeatedly striking a man with his baton during an arrest.

The Police Ombudsman has ruled the officer fabricated evidence about the case with the intention of influencing legal proceedings.

The case was revealed in the Police Ombudsman's annual report, which said the officer was reported by colleagues who witnessed the assault on closed-circuit TV and saw no threat to the officer from a man who was face down on the ground.

The officer resigned from the force before the Police Disciplinary Tribunal could finalise the charges against him.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-25/assault-case-stems-from-police-baton-use/4979354

Police allegedly break student's leg over ticket

A group of police officers broke the leg of an arts student and told her "we don't care if it's legal" after she was caught without a train ticket, a court has been told.

Rachel Gardner is suing the NSW police force claiming she was assaulted, sat on, handcuffed, pushed against a fence, loaded into a paddy wagon and then dumped at a nearby train station without charge on March 13, 2011.

Police initially denied the kick occurred but sought to amend their defence in the Sydney District Court on Monday after it emerged Ms Gardner's legal team had obtained CCTV footage from Cronulla station.

Ms Gardner, 36, was at the station with two tourist friends just before midnight when they were approached by transit officers and found to be without tickets.

An altercation ensued when the tourists couldn't produce identification and police attended. Ms Gardner claims that when she protested that one of the tourists was being pinned to the ground by a transit officer, Acting Sergeant Craig Sands kicked both her legs out from under her, breaking her right leg.

In her statement of claim, it is alleged Sergeant Sands then directed a transit officer to sit on her while she was lying face down on the platform before she was handcuffed, told she was under arrest and put in a paddy wagon.

When she objected to what she believed was an unlawful arrest, an officer said "we don't care if this is legal", the statement said. Ms Gardner was not taken to a police station and charged. Instead, she was driven to Sutherland railway station and "left to fend for herself in a seriously injured condition".

She is seeking damages of up to $750,000 for the injuries as well as the humiliation, disgrace, mental suffering, emotional distress, fear and anxiety, loss of social status and inconvenience caused by assault, false arrest and false imprisonment. A doctor's report says she will likely develop osteoarthritis within five to 10 years.

Her aspirations to become a filmmaker would also be hindered as well as attempts to get casual work while studying fine arts at the University of NSW College of Fine Arts, the court heard. Barrister Geoffrey Petty, SC, said the only record of the incident was a standard internal log that was "brief in the extreme". He said CCTV footage showed the kick "as plain as daylight" and also showed the officers chatting on the station as Ms Gardner limped away.

The police initially denied all Ms Gardner's claims and said she bit and kicked officers, however barrister Matthew Hastings sought to file a new defence document that Judge Sharron Norton noted was "entirely different" to the one submitted before the footage emerged.

Mr Hastings said Ms Gardner's statement of claim was so vague it hindered their initial investigation. The hearing resumes on Tuesday.


 http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/police-allegedly-break-students-leg-over-ticket-20130923-2uaau.html

Qld. cyclist hit by car alleges "imaginary" police interview

The video starts off like any other typical workday ride.

A cyclist is riding along the road, glancing over his shoulder to check on other vehicles, when a white jeep flashes past.

Suddenly, the car's side mirror knocks him from his bike, sending him tumbling to the ground at high speed. As the camera comes to rest, you can hear the cyclist's screams of agony. His upper leg has been shattered.

This video is gaining traction on social media after being posted by the Brisbane cyclist who claims Queensland police fabricated his testimony on the official crash report, in the course of fining the driver of the car one demerit point for "following too closely".

It comes to light at a time when cycling advocacy groups are renewing a national campaign for a minimum passing distance law, following the death of cyclist Richard Pollett in similar circumstances.

Craig Cowled, 38, who lost 1.5 litres of blood while spending seven hours in surgery, remembers the events leading up to the incident clearly, including an early premonition of danger.
Brisbane cyclist Craig Cowled, whose leg was shattered when he was hit by a car.

Brisbane cyclist Craig Cowled, whose leg was shattered when he was hit by a car. Photo: Fairfax Media

"As I was approaching a set of lights ... a white car came very close to me," Mr Cowled said. "It unnerved me a little but sometimes you shrug off these close passes and move on."

Mr Cowled said he started off again, "really putting my head down", taking a legal position in the middle of the left lane and staying out of a turning lane while constantly doing "head checks" over his shoulder for following cars.

"It came as a real surprise to me when this [white] car moved into my field of vision and suddenly I was hit. The bike went out from underneath and I slammed down onto the road."
A detail from an X-ray following surgery to repair Mr Cowled's shattered femur.

A detail from an X-ray following surgery to repair Mr Cowled's shattered femur.

Although he was in tremendous pain at the time of the incident, he clearly recalls passers-by creating a safe space around him and the speedy arrival of an ambulance. The police arrived and took a statement from the driver of the vehicle that had hit him, but Mr Cowled says he was rushed to hospital without speaking to them.

"I had a compound fracture right through my femur - the thigh bone, the biggest bone in your body - it was fractured clean through," he says.

He praised the "amazing" skills of the medical staff at the Royal Brisbane Hospital who inserted a titanium rod through the length of the bone, and reattached his leg to his hip joint.

While he was in hospital, a police officer visited but he was in treatment. He was later told the officer had merely come to tell him the location of his bicycle, which had been damaged in the crash.

When he was released from hospital almost a week later, Mr Cowled called police to give a statement and show them his video footage of the incident.

In a letter he delivered on Friday to the office of the Queensland Commissioner of Police, Ian Stewart, Mr Cowled details what happened next.

After leaving several messages and getting no reply, he eventually made contact.

"The officer advised me that I was not required to make a statement as the matter had been finalised," he writes. "I was very surprised and asked several times, why not?"

Mr Cowled said he was told that the driver been charged with a traffic offence. The officer would not tell him what the charge was, but told him that he should be happy that police had found 100 per cent in his favour, which would help to facilitate his personal injury claim.

A few weeks later Mr Cowled received a copy of the police report via his solicitor.

He was amazed to find that a statement had been filled in on his behalf, in first person speech. Inaccuracies included an entry that he had been cycling for recreation - he was in fact en route to work. Much of the statement attributed to him contains the same information as the statement given by the motorist who hit him. It ends by saying: "I have been struck by a vehicle on my right. I have then hit the bitumen and was instantly in pain."

The driver’s statement in the report said he had seen the cyclist up ahead, and had noticed him when nearly overtaking him at the earlier intersection. The driver said he was "trying to go around [the cyclist] in the lane" and "his bike has clipped the car".

The report concludes that the driver of the vehicle "has seen a bicycle up ahead and attempted to overtake ... and not left enough space", thereby causing a collision. This was judged as requiring a fine of "follow too closely", with the recommendation that "no further action be taken".

"In all honesty, I feel I have been brushed aside on this issue," said Mr Cowled, a PhD candidate with three sons under the age of six. "It’s galling."

He has sought legal advice, and hopes that his letter to the Commissioner will spark an investigation into police handling of the matter.

Police told Fairfax Media on Monday afternoon the matter was the subject of an internal inquiry.

"The Queensland Police Service is currently making inquiries in relation to allegations that have been raised to the police handling of an investigation where a cyclist was injured on Kingsford Smith Drive," police said in a statement.

"Those allegations have been forwarded to the Ethical Standards Command and this matter is now the subject of an internal inquiry."

Mr Cowled has been told it may take a year for him to recover full mobility, and there is a chance he will need a hip replacement. Six weeks later, he is still taking strong medication to manage constant pain.

The incident has come at a time when cycling advocacy organisations are campaigning for states to adopt laws that enforce a minimum distance for cars passing bicycles.

Sean Sampson of the Amy Gillett Foundation, which is campaigning under the slogan "a metre matters", said: "This incident highlights the need for change to create a safer environment for bicycle riders, the type of behavioural and legislative change that can be delivered through the introduction of minimum passing distance laws."

After months of public hearings and requests for submissions, a government inquiry into cycling in Queensland was completed last week. It is due to deliver its findings on November 29.

The inquiry follows a court case over the death of Mr Pollett, a virtuoso violinist, who was run over by a truck while cycling on Brisbane's Moggill Road in September 2011. In May this year, a jury found the truck driver was not guilty of any offence under the available laws.

 http://www.smh.com.au/national/cyclist-hit-by-car-challenges-police-over-fine-video-evidence-20130906-2tb68.html

Police guilty of misconduct, now facing criminal charges

Hill and Mewing

Six northern NSW police officers are facing possible criminal charges and dismissal from the force after the Police Integrity Commission found they used excessive force against a young Aboriginal man at Ballina police station and then falsely claimed he had assaulted them.

In scathing findings tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, the commission criticised the officers involved in the January 2011 incident, finding them guilty of serious police misconduct and recommending a range of charges including assault, perjury and giving false evidence.

The incident began when Aboriginal man, Corey Barker, then 21, was arrested on Tamar Street, Ballina, for trying to obstruct police, and taken to the local police station.

The police officers involved claimed that when they attempted to move Mr Barker to a different cell he assaulted Senior Constable David Hill, punching him in the face.

However, the commission found that CCTV footage revealed there was no assault.

Rather, the commission found, the footage showed Mr Barker being slammed into a wall and a large metal object in the station's charge room by the officers, before they dragged him backwards by the arms along the ground into a cell.

Six of the officers who were either involved in the altercation or witnessed it, subsequently signed sworn statements accusing Mr Barker of assaulting police, statements which they then backed up with sworn evidence in court.

The case was thrown out by Ballina Local Court Magistrate David Heilpern, who referred the police's actions to the commission.

All of the officers – Senior Constable Hill, Constable Lee Walmsley, Constable Ryan Eckersley, Constable Luke Mewing, Senior Constable Mark Woolvern, and Robert McCubbin (now discharged) – conceded in the commission that the footage did not show any punch by Mr Barker.

Senior Constable Hill continued to maintain he was struck, a claim which the commission found "cannot be given any credence".

"Barker did not assault Hill in the Ballina Police Station on the night of 14 January 2011 and, in particular, did not punch, or even attempt to punch, Hill on the nose or face," the Commissioner, Bruce James, QC, said.

He found there was "no justification for the degree of force to which Barker was subjected".

"The police treatment of Barker can fairly be described as violent ... [the] method of taking Barker to the cell would have been acutely painful and was brutal."

Previous allegations that two of the officers kicked Mr Barker were not upheld.

The commissioner found that Senior Constable Hill was a witness "of little credibility", and he and the other five officers had lied in their statements and in court.

The commission recommended Senior Constable Hill, Constable Walmsley, Constable Mewing, Senior Constable Mark Woolvern, and Constable Eckersley be considered for charges of assault, and that all but Constable Eckersley also be considered for charges of perjury.

It recommended that the NSW Police Commissioner consider dismissing or alternatively demoting all six officers.

The officer in charge of investigating the fabricated assault on Senior Constable Hill, Senior Constable Gregory Ryan was cleared of any wrongdoing, as was another officer involved in the arrest, Senior Constable Kelly Haines.


 http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/police-guilty-of-misconduct-now-facing-criminal-charges-20130910-2tig6.html

NSW policeman Marc Osborn found guilty of filming sex with women without their permission

NSW policeman Marc Osborn was today convicted of three counts of filming a person engaged in a private act without their permission for sexual gratification as some of his victims applauded in court.

Magistrate Janet Wahlquist in Downing Centre Local Court said he had secretly filmed three women, who he met on the internet, having sex in his bedroom using a clock which contained a pinhole camera.

He then downloaded the most explicit parts of the film onto his iPad and showed it to other police officers, who gave evidence to the court.

The magistrate said he had told the women he was a police officer and they said they trusted him because of this.

Osborn, 42, had told the court he filmed himself having sex to show his younger colleagues: "The old man's still got it."  On one film, he even winked at the camera.

Magistrate Wahlquist adjourned the case to September 26 for sentence.

The women said outside court that they were relieved at the verdict.

The court verdict follows today's Daily Telegraph report about a NSW Police internal affairs investigation uncovering evidence Osborn allegedly saw up to 33 women at the same time, meeting four of them on any one day as far apart as Sydney and Newcastle.

One woman has alleged to officers with the Professional Standards Command in a statement that she once had sex with the father-of-two in a fully-marked Nissan patrol police vehicle and that he spent up to four hours a shift with her in her house.

"When he was on a four-day block, I would see him and have sexual intercourse with him on three out of the four shifts,'' the woman, 31, known as Ms BB, claimed in her statement.

"Even the neighbours were commenting to me that it appeared I had personal security with the number of times that a fully marked police vehicle was in front of my house.''

She told internal affairs officers that most of the time Osborn was alone but on a few occasions he told her there was someone sleeping in the car as it was parked outside the house.

NSW Police are now facing a claim for damages from Ms BB, a single mother of two, possibly more of his lovers for failing to protect the vulnerable women.

Her lawyer Greg Walsh yesterday filed a summons in the District Court seeking details including the names of all of the officers who accompanied Osborn on duty between December 31 2010 - when he met Ms BB - and September 9, 2012 when they last saw each other.

Osborn, 42, who has been suspended without pay, let her two children play in his police car.

"I feel very betrayed that he used his position as a trusted member of the NSW Police to gain access to my home and my children,'' she told police in her statement.  "I am completely bewildered.''

The Professional Standards Command allegedly found the details of the 33 women on Osborn's mobile phone which had been seized. They allegedly also found the officer sent group text messages to some of the women.

When they spoke to Ms BB in November last year at Chatswood Police Station, they showed her a photograph of her naked which she did not know had been taken. She was also shown a 20-minute film of them having sex which she said he had secretly filmed.

She said the only photographs of her that he should have were those she had professionally taken of her topless on a bed and gave to him.

"I am completely ashamed that he took such degrading photographs of me ... and I didn't give him permission to do that,' Ms BB claimed in her statement to police.

She has told internal affairs officers that she met Osborn when he was an acting sergeant at Chatswood and he answered a radio call about "two girls fighting in a spa'' on New Year's Eve 2009. She was one of the "girls'', drunk at a neighbour's house.

She said Osborn gave her a lift home and took her inside and they began to kiss.

He contacted her a few days later and they saw each other between January and April 2010 "but only when he was working''.

They got back together in January 2011 when he had moved to Gladesville police station and she told police she saw him more on his days off when he came to her house for sex.

A police spokesman confirmed yesterday that Osborn was the subject of an internal affairs investigation.

"This is an anomaly in policing culture and one which is not tolerated by the NSW Police Force,'' a police spokesman said yesterday.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/nsw-policeman-marc-osborn-found-guilty-of-filming-sex-with-women-without-their-permission/story-fni0cx12-1226695939710

NSW Police Integrity Commission recommends charges over police shooting of Adam Salter

A POLICE sergeant who shot dead a mentally ill man should be prosecuted for lying to the Police Integrity Commission about the incident, the commission recommended yesterday.

Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione should also consider sacking Sergeant Sherree Bissett or taking disciplinary action against her, the PIC said.  Sgt Bissett, with more than 21 years on the force, shot dead Adam Salter at his Lakemba house in November, 2009.

She later claimed she believed a fellow officer, Aaron Abela, had been in grave danger from Mr Salter, who was suicidal and armed with a carving knife with which he had already stabbed himself.

Sgt Bissett and two fellow officers said Probationary Constable Abela had been trying to restrain Mr Salter at the time.

But PIC Commissioner Bruce James rejected almost all of the police evidence in favour of the paramedics, who said Constable Abela was at the other side of the kitchen and not in danger.

Mr James also rejected independent ambulance briefing notes that supported the police version of events of what happened in the Lakemba house Mr Salter shared with his father Adrian in November, 2009. The briefing notes, prepared by an independent senior ambulance officer after she spoke to the paramedics, stated: "The only police officer in kitchen at the time, being possibly junior, attempted to restrain the patient."

Mr James also rejected an Ambulance Service file note that supported the evidence given by police.  The file note stated: "Police on scene trying to restrain (patient)."

Lawyers for the police had argued the paramedics had changed their evidence because they were angry with the police, but that was rejected by the PIC.

Mr James found Sgt Bissett, Constable Abela and the two other officers, Leading Senior-Constable Leah Wilson and Senior-Constable Emily Metcalf, had lied to the PIC about Constable Abela being close to Mr Salter and in danger.

The Commissioner also recommended disciplinary action be considered against three other officers, including respected homicide detective Inspector Russell Oxford, who conducted the internal police investigation into the shooting.

 http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/national/police-integrity-commission-recommends-charges-over-police-shooting-of-adam-salter/story-fnii5s41-1226670376914

Battle to get Qld police thug Arndt punished still ongoing

<i>The Police service is protecting him.  It's only a very persistent victim that is giving hope of justice</i>

A POLICE officer who assaulted an elderly homeless man in a mall seven years ago has failed to stop the Crime and Misconduct Commission trying to have him disciplined.

Bruce Rowe was assaulted in Brisbane's Queen Street Mall in 2006 when some police officers pinned him to the ground and Constable Benjamin Arndt kneed him.

Constable Arndt was found guilty of assaulting Mr Rowe and fined $1000, with no conviction recorded, after a private prosecution.

After the CMC referred a complaint from Mr Rowe to the Queensland Police Service, an assistant commissioner decided Constable Arndt needed only "managerial guidance'', and there was no disciplinary action.

The CMC has applied to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal for that decision to be reviewed, on the ground that Constable Arndt should have been disciplined for misconduct.

Constable Arndt tried to strike out the CMC application, saying it lacked substance and the tribunal did not have jurisdiction to deal with it.

The tribunal heard when the CMC first investigated Mr Rowe's complaint, it found there had been an illegal assault and referred a report to the QPS for any disciplinary action.

In February, the QPS told the CMC that managerial guidance had been provided to Constable Arndt.

The officer was told no further action would be taken in relation to the complaint and no adverse reference would be put on his personal file, the tribunal heard.

Tribunal member Michelle Howard said the CMC Act allowed the tribunal to review specified decisions made about police officers if the CMC applied.

While Constable Arndt argued there had been no reviewable decision, Ms Howard found there had been a decision in relation to an allegation of misconduct regarding the unlawful assault.

On May 10, she found that it was a reviewable decision that was made within the appropriate time and dismissed Constable Arndt's application.


 http://www.couriermail.com.au/national-news/queensland/police-constable8217s-bid-to-stop-the-cmc-punishing-him-for-bashing-a-homeless-man-in-2006-has-failed/story-fnii5v6w-1226669565234

Fat-arsed Victoria police couldn't even be bothered by a DEATH

A Victoria Police investigation into the violent death of a patient at a state-run psychiatric hospital was ''manifestly inadequate'', with crucial physical evidence not collected and potential witnesses not questioned, a scathing report by the homicide squad has found.

Detective Senior Sergeant Sol Solomon described ''catastrophic failures'' of basic police investigatory procedures as he presented his report to the Coroners Court on Monday as part of the inquest into the death of Fred Williamson at the Austin Hospital's psychiatric unit in Heidelberg in March 2008.

''The deceased and his devoted family deserved far better service than they have received in this situation. Quality control processes … failed on all levels,'' Senior Sergeant Solomon said.
Fred and Roma Williamson with their son Fred.

Fred and Roma Williamson with their late son Fred, centre. Photo: Jason South

Mr Williamson, 52, was found in a pool of blood on the bathroom floor inside the locked room of another patient. He was found with a plastic bag covering part of his head and had suffered several injuries indicating a possible assault.

Despite Mr Williamson's injuries and the bizarre nature of his death, Heidelberg detectives and uniformed officers attending the scene determined on the day that it was not suspicious, concluding that suicide or misadventure was the most likely cause.

Their conclusion meant that neither the homicide squad nor forensic crime scene investigators were called to attend and potential witnesses, including staff and patients, were not interviewed. The room was cleaned soon after the incident, destroying any forensic evidence.

In 2011, Fairfax Media reported the Williamson family's disappointment with the police investigation and coroner Paresa Spanos's request that Senior Sergeant Solomon, then a 19-year veteran of the homicide squad, review the case.

Senior Sergeant Solomon told the inquest that his review had identified a ''number of aspects'' that did not support the suicide scenario. These included an assessment by Mr Williamson's treating psychiatrists that his risk of self-harm was extremely low, extensive blood spatter patterns at the scene, the fact that Mr Williamson had been recently assaulted twice by other patients and an autopsy report that showed injuries indicating possible assault.

He said important evidence, such as the plastic bag found over Mr Williamson's head, had not been collected or examined by forensic experts and had since been lost. A cloth towel reportedly found near or inside the plastic bag was also not examined and its whereabouts were unknown.

Senior Sergeant Solomon also found anomalies in statements by uniformed police regarding their claim that no footprints were at the scene when photographs suggested otherwise.

''I cannot reconcile or understand how the attending members could have come to the conclusion they came to [so quickly],'' he said. ''I have attended hundreds of crime scenes and deaths and I've never seen anything like this.''

Senior Sergeant Solomon said senior police attending the scene had failed to show leadership and that Mr Williamson's family had received a ''manifestly inadequate'' investigation.

Two senior plain-clothes detectives who were called out on the afternoon of Mr Williamson's death were also strongly criticised by Senior Sergeant Solomon, who found they should have taken control and treated it as a potential crime scene. Police records indicate the detectives spent less than 40 minutes at the scene before leaving it to uniformed officers.

A uniformed junior constable was left with the task of preparing the brief for the coroner with very little or no supervision.

Ms Spanos said the inquest had heard evidence that a junior constable was given the job of preparing the coronial brief - her first- on the basis of a local police convention that deemed the officer who drove the car to the scene also did the paperwork. Senior Sergeant Solomon said he had not heard of such a convention and described it as ''absolutely outrageous''.

''With a shoplifting it might be OK, but you're talking about a man's death,'' he said.


 http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/police-slammed-over-probe-20130617-2oelq.html
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W.A.: Watch-house bashing revealed on CCTV

FOOTAGE of a police officer repeatedly punching a prisoner and dragging another through a watch-house by his neck has been shown to a public hearing held by Western Australia's corruption watchdog.

The footage, taken by CCTV cameras at the Broome watchhouse in WA's Kimberley region, shows the same senior constable involved in two separate incidents less than three weeks apart earlier this year.

After viewing the footage, Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan served a loss of confidence notice on the 31-year-old constable, who has since resigned from the force.

In the first incident on March 29, the officer appears to place a teenager arrested for obstructing police in a neck hold before dragging him inside after he refused to leave a police van.

As the hysterical girlfriend of the teenager looks on, the youngster is placed in a padded cell and stripped - as numerous other officers watch.

In the second incident captured by CCTV, a man is seen swinging a punch in the Broome watch-house after being arrested for public drinking.

The senior constable reacts by swinging several hard punches. Then, as the prisoner lies on the floor, the officer appears to drop his knee twice on the head of the man, who goes limp.

The prisoner is then dragged inside where another camera shows him flying forward through a doorway onto the hard floor with his hands cuffed behind him.

As other police look on, another officer removes the man's shorts and searches them.

Some time later, when the detainee is back on his feet, the 31-year-old constable is alleged to have said to him: “Nice face, ****.”  He then added: “Nothing wrong with mine. You punch like a faggot.”

The detainee suffered a broken finger and swelling to his eye, according to Gail Archer SC, counsel assisting the Commissioner Roger Macknay of the Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC).

The public hearings into the incidents, beginning today, were ordered by the CCC.

Ms Archer said the hearings would investigate the use of force by the officers, and what other officers at the station could - and should - have done.

Two other officers were stood down over the incidents, although one of them, a 38-year-old female, has since returned to her duties.

Commissioner Macknay ruled that the identity of the two arrested men and the former officer should be suppressed during the hearing, while the CCTV footage would not immediately be released to media.


http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/watch-house-bashing-revealed-on-cctv/story-e6frg6nf-1226661337937

Deadhead W.A. cops

SERIOUS criminal cases including murder, rape and assault could be going unsolved because police have failed to do basic forensic work.

The Sunday Times can reveal that police will overhaul how cases are handled after an internal audit of more than 100,000 arrests found more than two-thirds of people charged for serious offences did not have their "identifying particulars" such as DNA or fingerprints recorded.

In 30 per cent of the cases, in which particulars were taken, they weren't properly recorded.

Deputy Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said it was clearly not good enough. "WA Police is concerned about any gaps in the collection of identifying particulars and we are working to correct this," he said.

"It is unclear what the underlying causes have been, but we have set out to educate, better train and supervise our people about the absolute importance of this process to solving current, historical and future serious crimes."

Mr Dawson said systems were being sought that would ensure prosecution briefs and detention processes could not be completed until all offenders have been sampled, fingerprinted and photographed.

Details of the police audit were recently highlighted in an internal weekly police publication sent to every WA officer.
It found that of more than 100,000 arrests made in WA in 2011 only 31.5 per cent of people charged with a serious offence had their identifying particulars recorded.

WA police forensic division superintendent Tony Flack said getting identifying particulars from charged people was essential in cracking outstanding cases and preventing crime.

"Taking IP (identifying particulars) is not an optional extra and we continue to lose investigative opportunities every time we don't take a sample," he wrote in the weekly publication.

Mr Flack said it had been suggested that officers might not be taking IP because they did not fully understand their rights.

Legislation introduced in 2002 allows police to take DNA samples from people charged with or suspected of committing a serious offence that carries a penalty of 12 months or more.

That can range from shop-lifting, to assault, or more serious crimes such as rape and murder.

Mr Dawson said some of the 68 per cent of people who did not have their identifying particulars taken in the 2011 audit period might have already supplied them to police because they were repeat offenders.

But The Sunday Times understands the confidential police audit found most of those 68 per cent had no DNA police record prior to 2011.

WA Police Union president George Tilbury said officers were being pressured to deal with offenders quickly and as a result were not taking DNA samples or fingerprints as often as they should be.

"Sufficient resources will ensure that all (identifying) particulars can be taken and investigations can be extensively concluded," he said.


http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/slack-cops-miss-dna/story-fnhocxo3-1226655173510