Police bosses ignored warning about rogue cop

As ever in Queensland, the rot starts at the top



ROGUE Whitsundays cop Benjamin Price assaulted his third victim despite having already been reported to senior officers by colleagues who witnessed an earlier attack.

Former officer in charge of Whitsunday police station Sergeant Russell Pike said that after Price assaulted tourist Renee Toms in the Airlie Beach watchhouse in January 2008, he and two junior officers filed a report of excessive force that amounted to serious misconduct against the then senior constable, and expected it to be investigated.

"In January 2008, I personally made recommendations that Price be withdrawn from active duty until the investigation was conducted," Mr Pike said. "The recommendations were ignored. The truth is the police service had full knowledge of Price's behaviour and failed to act on it."

Mr Pike and another officer from the Whitsunday police station quit the force in disgust at the height of an internal investigation two years ago into alleged brutality by Price.

Price, 33, a father-of-two, pleaded guilty in Bowen District Court on Monday to bashing three tourists while on duty in Airlie Beach. He is due to be sentenced in Townsville on October 8.

The assault on Toms, 23, was captured in graphic detail on security camera footage. Another video, from May 2008, shows three police looking on while Price punches and knees handcuffed Timothy Steele, 26, before jamming a fire hose into his mouth.

Queensland Police this week said that any officers who did not report the assaults might face disciplinary action. "Once the court process is finalised, consideration will be given in relation to discipline action against any current serving officers who were aware of Mr Price's actions and yet failed to report the misconduct," the QPS said.

But Mr Pike, 44, claimed the QPS was focusing unfairly on junior officers. "It is now all too easy to publicly threaten (officers) and spread innuendo," he said. "Entire reputations have been smeared and tarnished. A whole lot of police have been dragged through the coals, interrogated and investigated because of one rogue cop."

He said he did not want to play down the "brave act" of police whistleblower Constable Bree Sonter in coming forward after the Steele incident in May 2008.

He said police were assaulted in Airlie Beach but there was no culture of retaliation. "What more could we do? We reported it to our bosses, but we could hardly go over their heads."

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Taxpayers fund payouts to former cop's bashing victims

And all he gets is 12 months in jail. I predicted the payouts here yesterday

ROGUE ex-cop Benjamin Thomas Price has cost taxpayers more than $1 million in secret payouts to three bashed tourist victims in a case of police brutality branded by senior officers as "one of the worst ever seen".

Former Senior Constable Price, 33, of Airlie Beach police station, yesterday pleaded guilty to three counts of assault occasioning bodily harm and one count of common assault against three victims in 2007 and 2008.

Documents obtained by The Courier-Mail reveal three victims made civil damages claims for at least six-figure compensation payouts against the Queensland Police Service – because the ex-police officer is bankrupt.

His admission of guilt comes after female police whistleblower Constable Bree Sonter, yesterday hailed as a hero, broke ranks and filed a complaint against her former patrol partner two years ago.

Price was accused of punching and kneeing a handcuffed Timothy Steele before jamming a fire hose in his mouth, nearly drowning his victim on May 25, 2008. Shocking video footage from inside the Airlie Beach police station shows Price punching and kneeing a bleeding, handcuffed Timothy Steele.

In another incident, it was alleged petite barmaid Renee Toms, also handcuffed, was flung about by the hair by Price before being slammed into a desk and the floor inside the watchhouse.

His third victim, merchant banker Nicholas Le Fevre, of Sydney, claims he was king-hit and repeatedly punched in the head by Price after arguing with him. Yesterday he confirmed he was the latest to take a confidential out-of-court settlement.

Documents show Steele, a plasterer of NSW, filed a damages claim in Brisbane Supreme Court for $725,000 and is known to have signed off on a confidential agreement.

Barmaid Renee Toms, also of Sydney, yesterday confirmed her case was yet to be settled and was due to go to mediation with a compensation figure yet to be decided.

Price yesterday showed no emotion as he changed his plea to guilty and outside court refused to respond to questions about any formal apology to his victims.

But, in extraordinary claims on his Facebook page, the father-of-two protested his innocence in his latest entry. He said: "I want you to all understand that I have been forced into a corner by the QPS and the dogs that turned against me."

He revealed he cut a deal with the DPP to change his plea to guilty for a reduced three-year sentence to spend a maximum 12 months in prison. He brokered the deal in the hope he would be "out in time for his oldest son's 16th birthday next October".

"The case has gained much media attention and is now purely political. "I'm positive that I've made the best decision for my wife and kids and to me nothing else matters."

Deputy Commissioner Ian Stewart, in response to Price's guilty plea yesterday, said it was "one of the most difficult cases we've had to deal with". "We apologise to the community for this breach of trust," he said. "Certainly the behaviour is that of the worst I've seen for one single officer."

Asked by The Courier-Mail why the officers who witnessed the brutality but remained silent had not been punished, he replied they "may have received managerial guidance". [What a mockery of justice!]

Deputy Commissioner Stewart praised female officer Bree Sonter for her "integrity and courage". The action of the whistleblower which led to the investigation and charges was "proof the system works". [What system? It was just one decent cop while other cops stood by and did nothing]

Price will be sentenced in Townsville District Court on October 8 and is likely to face a minimum 12 months' jail.

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Police gorilla finally convicted

This should open the way for some very large damages awards against the Qld. police. And what about the other cops who stood by and just watched?



Rogue ex-cop Benjamin Thomas Price has pleaded guilty to bashing three tourists while on duty in the Whitsunday mecca of Airlie Beach. Price today faced Bowen District Court to plead guilty to three counts of assault causing bodily harm and one count of common assault.

The father-of-two, now a tree-cutter, resigned from the police force and today admitted the three separate assaults after female police whistleblower Bree Sonter broke ranks and spoke out about the police brutality she had witnessed at the north Queensland police station.

Two of his violent attacks inside the Airlie police station two years ago were captured on security camera footage in graphic detail. Price told at least one of the victims: "This is my town'' as he meted out his own brand of rough justice.

Shocking footage showed the strongly-built ex-cop punching a bleeding and handcuffed Timothy Steele before jamming a fire hose into his mouth in May 25, 2008. Other police officers watched on and made no move to stop the assault.

In another incident captured on film, petite barmaid Renee Tomms was flung about by the hair and body slammed by the former senior constable as she was being interviewed at the police counter over a drunken dispute.

Investment banker Nicholas Le Fevre, who was on a sea kayaking trip, told how he was repeatedly punched in the face and left dazed and bleeding by Price after disputing his alleged offence of urinating in a public park late at night in 2007.

All three victims are from New South Wales.

Price, who was released on bail, showed no emotion as Judge John Durwood listed his case for sentencing in Townsville District Court on October 8.

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Qld. cops kill another black -- big coverup underway

"Restraint asphyxia" means that someone was sitting on him so heavily that he couldn't breathe. And that was what happened according to the pathologist. So the police claim that they were sitting only on his limbs is an absurd lie

Sad as the death is, however, the coverup is even more alarming. It indicates a completely corrupt police culture that could easily victimize others

An Aboriginal man who was physically restrained and handcuffed after he sought treatment for mental illness suffered asphyxia, an autopsy has found.

The man was physically restrained by hospital security staff in Townsville and handcuffed by police.

But a separate police report details how detectives have so far failed to interview the six to eight security officers and orderlies who seized an agitated Lyji Vaggs, 27, and held him face-down before he suffered respiratory failure and irreversible brain damage.

"Restraint asphyxia" contributed to Vaggs's death at Townsville Hospital in April, but the pathologist who performed the post-mortem examination on his body says asphyxia may not in itself have killed him.

Despite the uncertainty, Queensland Health "had not yet provided any further information with respect to the actions of staff relating to the deceased's assessment, transport and the period of detention prior to police arrival" at the mental health unit of Townsville Hospital, the police report to the state coroner states.

Security footage of the confrontation involving Vaggs, hospital staff and security officers on April 13 either did not exist or could not be found, The Australian has been told.

The revelations will deepen outrage at his treatment at the hospital from Vaggs's family and the Aboriginal community in Townsville, and invoke comparisons with the botched handling by Queensland police of the 2004 death in custody of another indigenous man, Mulrunji Doomadgee, on nearby Palm Island.

A spokesman for the police service declined to comment last night, saying the Vaggs case was now before the coroner.

The autopsy report for the coroner, prepared by Cairns-based forensic pathologist Paul Botterill, found that Vaggs died of the combined effects of "restraint asphyxia", obesity, schizophrenia and an aberrant coronary condition.

Dr Botterill reported he had been told Vaggs had been restrained by six to eight hospital staff, who maintained pressure on his limbs but "apparently not directly on him". This happened after he went to the hospital seeking help, and turned on medical staff. "He was observed to be still resisting, trying to get up," Dr Botterill reported.

"Hospital staff allegedly requested the use of handcuffs and police applied these, with the decedent's wrists situated behind his back.

"Police say that they remained at the upper torso, holding on the handcuffed arms and each placing a knee on the decedent's arms. One of the security officers was then alleged to have restrained the decedent's legs by crossing them and folding them upwards.

"The decedent was said to have continued to struggle, with his speech becoming irrational." The autopsy report notes that Vaggs sang Happy Birthday and asserted he was a woman.

He was then injected in the buttocks with an a psychotic medication, olanzapine. He continued to struggle, and may have been given further injections, at which time he was observed to go "limp and lifeless". He died on April 15 after life support was turned off.

The chief investigating police officer, Inspector Roger Lowe, said in his report to the Coroner that police had interviewed no hospital staff apart from the doctor who administered the sedative, Mushtaq Mohiuddin, due to "privacy reasons". [Deaths are not investigated for "privacy reasons"????] Others on duty at the time, or involved in the incident, were "unavailable to be spoken to" by police investigators, Inspector Lowe said. [Next time I kill someone I guess that I should make myself "unavailable to be spoken to" as well]

Queensland Health acting district solicitor Shiloh Smith had advised the police that "statements for staff involved in the incident were to be provided through Queensland Health solicitors", the policeman said.

Vaggs's aunt and family spokeswoman Gracelyn Smallwood, an associate professor of nursing, said she was concerned the investigation to date had not been thorough.

"When I heard of Lyji's death, the first thing I did was pray to God that nothing was covered up because the last thing we need here is another Palm Island," she said.

"We didn't want key witnesses not interviewed, or security videos suddenly not being available -- and what do we get. It is just so disappointing for Aboriginal people seeking justice and answers that this is the result we get all the time.

In his report to the Coroner, Inspector Lowe wrote that Vaggs was a patient well known to the hospital who suffered from schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression. He tried to be admitted to the hospital on April 13 as he was "hearing voices". Other sources told The Australian that the voices were telling him to "kill somebody", so he went to the hospital seeking admission and medical help.

Vaggs rang the Mental Health Community Assessment Team and they sent a car for him. On arrival at the hospital, he allegedly struck a medical student from the unit, and the duress alarm was sounded, with hospital security staff responding, and police asked to attend.

"Four constables arrived at the Mental Health Unit at 1531 hours and they observed the deceased face-down on the floor and being physically held down by his limbs by between six to eight hospital staff, including security personnel," Inspector Lowe wrote.

"The deceased was observed to be struggling and resisting hospital staff attempting to get up whilst staff held on to him. Police observed the deceased to be a very large man and had concerns for safety of all persons involved."

Vaggs' funeral service will be held at the Assembly of God Church, Ayr, at 10am on August 20.

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It sounds like the hospital staff were handling the man correctly but when the police arrived they went in hard

Extraordinary: Cop does 210kmh in 60 zone

Why is he still in the police service?


He even looks prehistoric

A PROBATIONARY police constable who drove at 210 km/h in a 60km/h zone on Stafford Road has been fined $1,800 and disqualified from driving for eight months.

Steven David Sankey, 25, pleaded guilty in the Magistrates Court in Brisbane today to dangerous driving on December 20, 2009.

The court heard Sankey was a first-year police officer operating from Stafford station when he and his partner received a call to respond to an incident a break-in at a JB Hi Fi store on Gympie Road around 1.55am.

The call was originally Code 3 - requiring officers to proceed in a normal manner - but after police received incorrect information that a security guard at the store was being assaulted by a person who had attempted to break in they upgraded the job to Code 2.

Code 2 allows lights and siren and permits officers to break the speed limit but does not allow them to drive in a dangerous manner.

Prosecutor Dennis Kinsella said Sankey reached speeds of up to 210 km/h on 60km/h Stafford Road through built up areas with numerous side streets.

The court was told his supervising officer Senior Constable Parker was forced to brace herself and repeatedly urged him to "slow up."

Defence lawyer Ralph Devlin, SC, said his client had been stood aside since the incident and had been performing non-operational duties.

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Police made terrible error of judgment causing death

POLICE committed a "terrible error of judgment" in leaving an Ipswich teenager lying handcuffed on a busy street, the Queensland coroner has told an inquest into the youth's death. Coroner Michael Barnes was critical of police actions on the night of February 7, 2009, when Andrew John Bornen, 16, was hit and killed by a car driven by local woman Jennifer Hind.

Mr Barnes said he could not accept the evidence of then-Senior Constable Anthony Brett and Senior Constable Robert Ward that Bornen, who was drunk, acted aggressively towards them, warranting him being handcuffed on the street.

Police had stopped their unmarked patrol car on busy Albion Street in the Ipswich suburb of Brassall with the headlights on, obscuring the view of the approaching car which struck Andrew.

Mr Barnes said a jury would be entitled to find they were placing the youth in danger of being run over. He referred the matter to the Director of Public Prosecutions to decide whether charges should be laid against the two officers.

Mr Barnes criticised the officers for not activating the emergency lights to warn the approaching Ms Hind. Their last minute attempts to warn her failed, he said, and absolved Ms Hind of responsibility for the youth's death.

Ms Hind wept loudly in the arms of friends after the ruling.

Mr Barnes said the officers had not verified the information that they were looking for a man armed with a machete. "I do not accept that on every occasion that an armed man is reported to police, officers should respond as if the subject is likely to kill and maim indiscriminately unless immediately apprehended," he said.

The subsequent death was "the result of a terrible error of judgement on the officers' part". "The actions of the two officers was a substantial and significant cause of Mr Bornen's death," he said.

As well as referring the matter to the DPP, Mr Barnes recommended the police uniform committee consider whether officers should wear reflective material as part of their standard uniform at night.

Bornen's mother, Helen Donaldson, said nothing would bring back "her beautiful boy", the fourth of her eight children, but the inquest went some way to ensure similar events did not reoccur.

General president of the Queensland Police Union, Ian Leavers, said there is nothing in Mr Barnes' findings that imply guilt. "The matter has merely been referred to the DPP to consider the information," Mr Leavers said. He said the QPU will continue to back the policemen.

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Police officers to speak at inquest into death of handcuffed man

No matter how you shine it, this has got to be gross negligence. Leaving the kid lying down in the middle of a road shows gross indifference to his life

TWO police officers who handcuffed a teenager on a busy Ipswich roadway, where he was later hit and killed by a car, will appear in court today.

Two senior constables, Anthony Brett and Robert Ward, will testify at a coroner's inquest into the death of Andrew John Bornen, 16, who died on February 7, 2009 at Albion St, Brassall, west of Brisbane.

The inquest heard earlier a man believed to be Bornen was seen carrying a baseball bat earlier in the night.

Jennifer Hind, 24, the young mother who hit and killed Bornen said she did not know there was a person on laying face down road. She thought it was ``a black mass." She said she not realise it was a police officer who was waving at her to stop moments before she hit Mr Bornen.

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Third Qld cop suspended in just eight days

Queensland police have stood down a third officer from duty in eight days. A senior constable working at a police station in Brisbane's south was today stood down from duty pending an ethical standards investigation.

"The 34-year-old man will work in a non-operational role until the investigation into allegations relating to the tendering of court documents is finalised," police said in a statement on Saturday.

In early July, police suspended a 56-year-old plain-clothes senior constable accused of misappropriation. He was taken off duty after an investigation by police and the Crime and Misconduct Commission, following allegations he misappropriated property that came into his possession in connection with his duties.

On the same day police also suspended a first-year Queensland constable from the Metropolitan South Region in the wake of a NSW police investigation. The 32-year-old man allegedly attempted to influence a domestic violence court matter in NSW. His alleged actions were not connected with his official duties. He will work in a non-operational role while investigations continue.

Police say investigations for each of the three officers are ongoing.

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Top cop in coverup of police killing

QUEENSLAND Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson tried to block the release of a report into the death of Palm Islander Mulrunji Doomadgee. Mr Atkinson tried to stymie the Crime and Misconduct Commission's report into the investigations of the 2004 death of Mr Doomadgee, warning that it would stifle co-operation and harm the relationship between the crime bodies.

In correspondence obtained by The Australian, Mr Atkinson also pushed to shelve the CMC's report for ever, suggesting the then 200-page draft be kept even from officers accused of bias and "protecting their own".

Instead, Mr Atkinson supported a now-discredited internal review by two senior officers, who recommended "managerial guidance, correction and chastisement" for the four police who conducted the initial investigation. The internal review was ordered after Deputy State Coroner Christine Clements slammed the death-in-custody probe as lacking "transparency, objectivity and independence".

Release of the correspondence, in files submitted as part of an application for an injunction by two of the officers named by the CMC, will put Mr Atkinson's reappointment under even more pressure. Mr Atkinson has until tomorrow to act on the CMC's recommendations to file disciplinary proceedings for misconduct against the four original investigators and give consideration to launching disciplinary proceedings against the two officers who reviewed their work.

In its report, released last month, the CMC was highly critical of Mr Atkinson and said he needed to take responsibility for a "corrosive culture" that led to the "seriously flawed" Doomadgee investigation, as well as several other high-profile misconduct cases.

In a January 18 letter to then acting CMC chairwoman Ann Gummow, Mr Atkinson asks that the anti-corruption watchdog reconsider its intention to publish the report, then a draft. In his letter, Mr Atkinson said the CMC should dump its pursuit of disciplinary action and instead opt for managerial guidance and "intervention" - or face consequences.

"Given the nature of my proposed alternative course of action to resolve the Palm Island investigation issues, I ask that publication now be reconsidered," Mr Atkinson wrote. "Publication would likely have adverse consequences for the management of any future intervention, as public criticism of officers may affect their willingness to engage and accept responsibility; and for the adoption of open and frank dialogue between senior QPS (police)/CMC officers and initial Palm Island investigation officers".

Mr Atkinson then issues a further, more general warning to the CMC about the fall-out if the report were to be published:

"I have raised above the potential for the relationship between the QPS and CMC to suffer some harm from any publication and also my disappointment with the lack of consultation, indeed any formal consultation, with the service on this review since November 2008 - I view this most seriously," he wrote. "The process and public comments attributed to the CMC are a concerning precedent and I wish to avoid a future situation where the views of our agencies are reduced to writing and exchanged only formally - this is counterproductive."

The incoming CMC chair, Martin Moynihan QC, who took over in February, rejected Mr Atkinson's proposals. "The CMC will not compromise its 'overriding responsibility to promote public confidence' in reporting or commenting on events such as those which occurred on Palm Island following the death of Mr Doomadgee," Mr Moynihan wrote in March.

Queensland Police last night confirmed the authenticity of the letter, saying it was part of a "substantial amount of correspondence" between the commissioner and CMC over the past seven months. "It is not appropriate to comment while these processes are ongoing, but it may be at some future time," police said in a statement.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service chief executive Shane Duffy, who made the initial CMC complaint about the death-in-custody investigation, said he was stunned Mr Atkinson had tried to block the release of the report. "It is a disgrace. If this report wasn't released it would have caused an uproar not only in the indigenous community but the wider community about integrity and transparency of police in this state," he said. "The findings have been clear that there was an attempted cover-up by police and now this, another attempt at cover-up."

The correspondence also suggests Mr Atkinson intends to refuse to take disciplinary action against the two senior officers - acting chief superintendent Robert Gee and Inspector Mike McKay - who conducted the review of the initial death-in-custody investigation.

In one letter, Mr Atkinson slams the CMC probe as a "desktop review". Mr Atkinson said he supported the "spirit and intent" of the findings of Mr McKay and Mr Gee, who made up the Investigation Review Team, and their 2008 report into the initial death-in-custody. That report has never been publicly released.

Mr Atkinson told the CMC that the two officers - who were not named in the final CMC report - had shown their "well-established integrity, professionalism and commitment" when doing the review. "Potentially now, without any discussion or consultation they are about to have their reputation and careers significantly harmed," he wrote. "This is grossly unfair. I cannot abandon these officers and would have to consider the options available to me in that regard."

In its report, the CMC said Mr Atkinson had "ultimate responsibility" for the two-man team's report, handed to the CMC in 2008. At the release of the report, Mr Moynihan warned that the CMC would commence disciplinary proceedings through the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal if it were not satisfied with any action taken by Mr Atkinson against the six police officers by July 6.

It was now up to Mr Atkinson "to acknowledge the flawed and unacceptable conduct of the officers", he said. "He must step up, take strong, decisive action and restore the confidence of the public, and its own members, in the police service."

Doomadgee's violent death, within an hour of being arrested for public nuisance by Palm Island police boss Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley, sparked riots during which the police station servicing the Aboriginal community off Townsville was burnt down. Sergeant Hurley was acquitted in 2007 of Doomadgee's manslaughter.

A third inquest into the death found last month he had fatally injured the heavily intoxicated Doomadgee during a scuffle at the Palm Island lock-up, but coroner Brian Hine said no finding could be made on whether this was accidental on deliberate.

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Police scofflaws again

Police boss tells officers to stop parking in civic square

POLICE have been told to stop using Brisbane's main civic square as a parking lot and traffic shortcut.

Newly released Brisbane City Council documents show police officers were using King George Square for parking and a shortcut before council instigated a crackdown, leading to a direction from Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson's office to officers.

A spokesman for Lord Mayor Campbell Newman said council welcomed the presence of police for operational issues, but "not for using civic spaces as a parking spot or driveway".

He provided a photograph of City Hall's front door on May 13, showing five police cars in the King George Square driveway.

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More crooked cops

Just minnows, though

Two police officers have been stood down after one was investigated by the Crime and Misconduct Commission and the other was accused of attempting to "influence a domestic violence court matter in another state".

A 56-year-old plain clothes Senior Constable from the South Eastern Region has been suspended from duty following a joint investigation by the Crime and Misconduct Commission and Queensland Police Service. The suspension comes after allegations the man "misappropriated property that came into his possession in connection with his duties". The investigation is continuing.

In an unrelated matter, a first-year Constable from Metropolitan South Region has been stood down from duty following a New South Wales Police Service investigation. The standing down of the 32-year-old man relates to alleged attempts to influence a domestic violence court matter in another state. A police spokesman said it was not connected to his official duties. The officer will work in a non-operational role while the investigation is ongoing.

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Qld. Police Commissioner in the gun

THERE is an odour pervading the city, drifting down from Parliament House at one end of town and police headquarters at the other, merging mid-point to create a colourless, poisonous cloud. It's been building in intensity for some time, the occasional whiff of questionable behaviour indicating that something was amiss.

There was that police investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct in a nightclub hotel toilet made against three Broncos players, an investigation that inexplicably took months to finalise before it was eventually decided they had no case to answer.

Then there was the Taser issue, these weapons being handed out by then police minister Judy Spence despite the fact that a 12-month trial into the appropriateness of their use had not even been completed. They were handed over by a compliant minister because the police wanted them. End of story.

At the time, the London Metropolitan Police Authority declined an offer from the British government for the widespread distribution of Tasers because it believed that such a move would cause fear and damage public confidence in the police. The Queensland Police Service under Commissioner Bob Atkinson had no such reservations.

On the first night Tasers were in general use, a Queensland police officer and two security guards held down and shot a 16-year-old girl with a Taser when she failed to obey a police order to move on. She was waiting for an ambulance to attend a sick friend at the time.

On the Gold Coast, there have been repeated allegations that some officers working out of the Surfers Paradise police station have become a law unto themselves, routinely accepting free drinks and lap dances and consorting with those involved with the nightclub drug trade and organised crime. Police Minister Neil Roberts ruled out any inquiry and Atkinson said everything was being done to make sure police officers were not on the take. It was the usual "few bad apples" defence.

Last week, a Gold Coast businessman who went to the Surfers Paradise police station to pay a fine for his son claimed he was assaulted, thrown into a cell and threatened with having his arms broken after he asked for an officer's name.

The clues are there for all to see; the growth of the belief that if you're in the Queensland Police Service you can do what you want. The Government contributes to this climate of unaccountability by caving in to the police service all too often.

Last week Roberts indicated he was in favour of a police move to speed up the process of impounding cars for alleged "hooning" offences. The present scheme, the Minister said, involved a magistrate and "lengthy police paperwork". We are talking here about permanently confiscating someone's car or impounding it for more than 48 hours. If "streamlining" the procedure gives police more power and lessens the involvement of a hopefully independent judiciary and the rights of the individual, it should be resisted.

On the Government's previous form, it won't be. In the same week, Premier Anna Bligh boasted of giving new powers to police to issue on-the-spot fines of $100 to $300 for public nuisance offences such as swearing. As usual, the Queensland Police Service asked for more power and the Government quickly agreed.

Bligh's defence of the move was that it would save police time appearing in court. It would, I suppose, save police even more time if the courts were abolished completely. Detention without trial, I believe it is called. Queensland Council for Civil Liberties president Michael Cope voiced a widely held concern when he said: "This will become the thing police just slap on someone whenever they aren't happy."

Crime and Misconduct Commission chairman Martin Moynihan's denunciation of Atkinson as presiding over a culture of denial in the police service is damning but has been a long time coming.

The signs of a police service increasingly out of control have been evident for a while. The CMC report should mark the end of Atkinson's career. Whatever happens, the Queensland Police Service is at a crossroads, one of which leads down a dark path we have travelled before.

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Crime and Misconduct Commission chairman Martin Moynihan says Police Commissioner must 'step up'

CRIME and Misconduct Commission chairman Martin Moynihan has announced he will start a wide-reaching probe into how police investigate each other. In an exclusive interview Mr Moynihan yesterday dramatically raised the stakes in the debate that has raged this week over a "self-protecting" police culture under Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson.

Mr Moynihan said the CMC would look at stopping police accused of wrongdoing from being investigated by police from the same station or "establishment", after public complaints about the process. "You can see why that is a matter of concern," Mr Moynihan said, acknowledging lack of public confidence was a "big problem". "You can see why people might not have full trust."

Mr Moynihan said the CMC now needed to "bore down" in an overall review of how the system of investigation of police was working.

He said he was angry that decent police officers who were doing their duty were "besmirched" by a culture of police not acknowledging wrongdoing. "The Commissioner needs to step up and do his job and not be looking for other people he thinks might be able to do something. He's got to do it."

He said it was very disappointing the Commissioner did not at first see a problem in the way original police investigators ran the Palm Island probe into the death of Cameron Doomadgee, known as Mulrunji. "It's not very reassuring that he (Mr Atkinson) has really appreciated that considerations have arisen that there is this culture that says that you don't acknowledge that anything has gone wrong. "There is a culture that there is no effective supervision from the top down so that people can depart from standards and it has no consequence for them."

He said the police failure to face up to consequences of their actions and failures in the system could be fixed with effective supervision, which was not at present happening. "It has to start at the top and come down," he said. "You can't ask constables on the beat to set the standards ... they have to know if they do the wrong thing something will be done about it."

Mr Moynihan said there was nothing to stop the Commissioner reporting within 14 days on the course of action intended to be taken regarding disciplinary action against police involved in Palm Island investigations. He said the Commissioner could delegate a senior officer to consider it and implement the CMC recommendations - even an officer from another police service - or let the matter go to a tribunal.

Mr Moynihan said he would only consider an extension of time if the Commissioner gave a justifiable reason. "It would have to be a genuine compelling story because he's been across this or had staff across this for a long time," he said.

Mr Moynihan said he felt he could continue to work with Mr Atkinson as police commissioner. "My job is to have a proper relationship with whoever is police commissioner," Mr Moynihan said.

The state Opposition yesterday called for Mr Atkinson's reappointment as police commissioner to be frozen and for the position to be advertised, according to Fitzgerald report recommendations.

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Killer cop faces two new official inquiries

They'll get the b*stard for something yet



POLICE officer Chris Hurley is facing two fresh investigations. The Crime and Misconduct Commission last night confirmed it had opened a new probe into Senior Sergeant Hurley's compensation claims for property lost when the Palm Island police station and residence was burned down in 2004.

It also confirmed it was investigating allegations raised by Deputy Chief Magistrate Brian Hine at last month's coronial inquest.

CMC investigators believe Sen-Sgt Hurley, who owns a Gold Coast house and a beachfront unit, got as much as $150,000 after rioters burned the three-bedroom police house, police station and court house six years ago.

CMC director of misconduct investigations Russell Peace said Sen-Sgt Hurley appeared to have got three separate payments after the riots. "We are looking at whether this is a case of 'triple dipping'," Mr Pearce said. "The investigation is into any possibility of alleged insurance fraud in relation to the payouts. We believe there may be a case to answer."

FOI documents show Sen-Sgt Hurley - the officer charged and acquitted over the Palm Island death-in-custody of Cameron Doomadgee, known as Mulrunji - successfully claimed a $102,955 ex-gratia payment from the State Government for lost property.

Sen-Sgt Hurley was the main beneficiary of a Queensland Police Union Palm Island fund, taking donations from fellow officers, the size of which has not been made public. In May 2008, Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson ordered an internal investigation into the insurance-related payouts, overseen by the anti-misconduct watchdog, that has now been completed, sent to a barrister for independent review, and handed to the CMC.

The Queensland Police Service, Police Union and Sen-Sgt Hurley have been notified of the decision to reopen the investigation. None would comment yesterday.

Mulrunji's partner Tracey Twaddle said she had not yet received "one red cent of compensation". Ms Twaddle and the Doomadgee family plan to file a civil damages suit against Sen-Sgt Hurley and the Queensland Police Service.

The CMC also is investigating findings by Mr Hine at last month's coronial inquest that Sen-Sgt Hurley, Sergeant Michael Leafe and police liaison officer Lloyd Bengaroo had become aware of what a witness had said, and changed their own version of events.

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Premier tells police boss to meet deadline for dealing with crooked cops

The heat is on -- and not before time

ANNA Bligh says embattled Queensland Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson needs to comply with a deadline set by the state's anti-corruption body to take action against police over the Mulrunji Doomadgee death inquiry.

Six officers were adversely named in the Crime and Misconduct Commission's report on the “flawed” investigation into Doomadgee's death in custody.

The Premier said this morning she expected Mr Atkinson to take seriously the recommendations of the CMC for disciplinary action against six officers, including two senior men he hand-picked to review the biased initial investigation into Doomadgee's 2004 death in the Palm Island lockup.

Speaking to reporters in Brisbane, Ms Bligh said the CMC had exposed very serious flaws in the original investigation, and “shortcomings” in the subsequent internal police review of it...

She said the CMC report on the Doomadgee affair did not reflect well on any of the parties involved in the investigations.

The agency has warned Mr Atkinson that it would move to launch disciplinary proceedings against the police it had cited if Mr Atkinson did not take action, to its satisfaction, within a fortnight.

Mr Atkinson said today that may not be possible because of procedural constraints.

But Ms Bligh said she expected Mr Atkinson to act on the CMC recommendations “within the timeframe” set by the agency.

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Killer cop promoted

I suppose it's kind of appropriate that he is now working on the Gold Coast -- where thug cops are notorious. I guess his bosses want to keep him away from blacks. There are few blacks on the Gold Coast

THE police officer at the centre of the Palm Island death-in-custody saga has been promoted while fellow officers who protected him face demotion or dismissal. Senior-Sergeant Chris Hurley, now based on the Gold Coast after being charged and acquitted in 2007 of manslaughter over the death, has held the rank of Acting Inspector when filling in for senior colleagues.

As many as six officers face discipline for misconduct in a scathing 194-page Crime and Misconduct Commission report on the handling of the investigation into the 2004 Palm Island tragedy, to be released today.

The multimillion-dollar report into the investigation of the death in custody of Cameron Doomadgee, known as Mulrunji, found evidence of officers protecting colleagues and bias. The report is expected to recommend action against the officers.

In contrast, Senior-Sergeant Hurley, who has been based on the Gold Coast after being charged and acquitted in 2007 of manslaughter over the death, has held the rank of acting inspector when filling in for senior colleagues on high profile events such as Schoolies Week.

The death of Mulrunji after his arrest by Senior-Sergeant Hurley led to riots in which the police station and courthouse were burned down.

But the subsequent investigation was "deeply flawed", according to the CMC's report, which offers damning insight into a police culture of "double-standards". In a top-secret draft obtained by The Courier-Mail, the CMC named nine former and serving officers for action but last night the CMC indicated fewer officers had been included in the final version.

The two-year CMC probe uncovered evidence of police bias, police acting above the law, officers protecting fellow officers from blame and "obfuscating" evidence when police investigated police.

But criminal charges have not been recommended against the investigating officers. The penalties they face include reprimand, fines, demotion or dismissal. The police union has vowed to fight any sanctions against the officers, including seeking a judicial review of the CMC findings.

Mulrunji's family and the Palm Island community said the failure to lay criminal charges amounted to "little more than a slap on the wrist". "This multimillion-dollar witch-hunt has produced little more than a wrap over the knuckles," Palm Island mayor Alf Lacey said.

"How can they spend all this time and money not to come up with any criminal charges. If those police did wrong, they should be put in jail just like the rioters. "Black or white, what do you say when the system (that is) supposed to protect you, fails you? What do you say when the system ordinary Queenslanders trust, betrays that trust?"

Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson is urged in the report to act immediately to restore public trust in the Queensland Police Service. It says the QPS needs to rebuild the damaged image and repair the integrity of police. CMC officers will fly to Palm Island today to give the report.

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Man locked up for daring to ask police officer his name

What a goon! Clearly a danger to the public.

EMBATTLED Surfers Paradise police are embroiled in a fresh misconduct probe after a retired businessman was allegedly brutalised and thrown in a cell.

Lindsay Walters, 61, says he was subjected to shocking treatment at Surfers Paradise police station last month when he went in to pay a fine for his son. He claims he was sworn at, handcuffed and threatened that his arms would be broken.

The wealthy Paradise Waters businessman has made a formal complaint to the Crime and Misconduct Commission alleging unlawful arrest, deprivation of liberty and serious assault.

The CMC says the case could amount to official misconduct and has referred the allegations to the police Ethical Standards Command. It is the latest scandal for Surfers police, who are at the centre of a major CMC probe into allegations of involvement in the Glitter Strip's nightclub drug trade.

In a police statement, Mr Walters said he went to Surfers police station on May 4 after two officers called at his home that day in relation to an arrest warrant for his 28-year-old son Ben over an unpaid traffic fine in Victoria. He said he arranged to pay the $1000 fine for his son but when he went to the station was told the officer handling the matter was out.

He said he asked civilly several times to speak with the officer-in-charge. An officer eventually emerged and allegedly told him: "You've got two (expletive) choices sit there and wait or I'll arrest you." Mr Walters said he replied: "Well, that won't happen, because I'll leave." He said he was affronted by the officer's demeanour and turned to walk out. "Before I exited, I turned and said, 'excuse me, can I have your name please?"' Mr Walters said in the statement.

"At this instant, the officer burst through a door, strode quickly over to me and seized my left forearm. He forced my arm behind my back and said 'you're under arrest'. I felt an intense burning pain in my shoulders and neck. I said, 'why am I being arrested?'. The officer replied: 'An outstanding warrant'."

Despite his protestations, Mr Walters said his arms were forced back and he was handcuffed, causing intense pain. He admits to "some resistance" but said he was "shocked and amazed" by the way he was treated. He said that as he was being handcuffed, the officer said: "Stop resisting or I'll break your (expletive) arms."

Mr Walters said his belongings were seized and he was forced into a cell. He was released about 15 minutes later when the officer who had been handling his son's warrant returned. The officer apologised for his colleague's conduct and accepted the $1000 fine payment, Mr Walters said.

He said the officer who locked him up threatened to charge him with public nuisance but he was released without charge. "If I was playing up, why didn't they charge me?" he said yesterday. "I was humiliated and treated like a common criminal ... all for trying to do the right thing.

"I've never been in trouble with the law and some of my closest friends are serving and retired police, but this bloke (the officer) deserves to lose his job over this. I'm not going to let him get away with it."

A police spokeswoman confirmed an internal investigation into the incident was under way.

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Thug cops Taser man until he dies

Can you believe 28 taser shots one after the other into the same guy? He had a weak heart too but they showed no caution about that possibility

A MAN who died after being Tasered 28 times was not given breathing assistance by police because they could not find a mask and gloves, a coronial hearing has been told.

The pre-inquest hearing in Townsville before Deputy State Coroner Christine Clements heard that Antonio Carmelo Galeano, 39, died within 50 minutes of his partner calling police to her home at Brandon, near Ayr, on June 12 last year.

The hearing was told Galeano was naked and shouting threats when Senior Constable Craig Miles and Constable Melissa Cross went to the Green St address at 2.50am.

Believing Galeano was trying to climb through a tiny bathroom window, Sen-Constable Miles deployed his Taser from the outside of the house.

Galeano slumped to the floor and Sen-Constable Miles sent his partner into the house to restrain him. With the Taser probes still in Galeano, Sen-Constable Miles fired three more circuits of up to 16 seconds when it looked like he was getting up. "Each of those four activations occurred within a minute," counsel assisting the Coroner Stephen Keim told Townsville District Court.

Sen-Constable Miles then changed the Taser cartridge and went inside. Analysis of the second cartridge has revealed it was fired 24 times over 5½ minutes, with each activation lasting five seconds. Police have alleged Galeano tried to retrieve shards of glass but was eventually overcome and handcuffed.

Sandra Winn, who had been in a relationship with Galeano and who made the initial call to police, observed Galeano to be "black in the face" at this time, the hearing was told. Although the police administered chest compressions, they did not provide breathing assistance because there was no mask or gloves in their first aid kit. Galeano was pronounced dead 10 minutes after paramedics arrived.

Mr Keim said analysis of the Taser had found it was in good working order. But it is yet to undergo an "electron microscopy" which will examine the extent to which each activation period was a complete circuit.

Outside the hearing, Ms Winn said she had not moved from the address, despite the traumatic events of last year. "I sleep where he died," she said. "There are still burn marks from the Taser on the bathroom floor."

The coronial inquest has been tentatively set down for November 1. As well as the circumstances of his death, the inquest will examine the treatment and assessment Galeano received at the Ayr and Townsville hospitals two days before the incident.

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Another bad apple

Qld. cop stood down after allegedly harassing girl, getting into fight at nightclub on Gold Coast

A POLICE officer stood down over an incident outside a Gold Coast nightclub was allegedly involved in a fight after harassing a young woman.

A witness has told The Courier-Mail, the 39-year-old senior constable was lined up outside Shooters' Lounge Bar at Surfers Paradise about midnight on Saturday June 5, with a group of young friends. He was observed to be "highly intoxicated" when he said to a woman near him "tell my friends I'm too old to be here". She replied, "yes, you are too old".

But he allegedly grabbed her by the arms and repeated what he said, just centimetres from her face. The woman's boyfriend then remonstrated with him and the pair then started scuffling befored the police officer was knocked to the ground. He got up and pulled out his police badge but the fight continued.

Security was called and police arrived who separated the men. The off-duty officer is alleged to have resisted arrest.

The young couple was later called into Surfers Paradise police station where statements were taken. Police have so far not commented on the incident.

The senior constable has been stood down from his position in the North Coast region, while an internal investigation, overseen by the Ethical Standards Command, is carried out.

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Cops covering up for cops again

Police boss has dangerous nutcase of a son



A knife siege involving Queensland Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson's son last weekend was kept quiet after senior officers gave orders that it not be reported as a "significant event".

Police negotiators and half a dozen crews were called to 38-year-old Paul Atkinson's house on the Gold Coast early on May 29 after a complaint by a teenager at a bus stop that a man was armed with a large knife.

In what was initially treated as a siege, police negotiators were sent to the scene after Mr Atkinson allegedly barricaded himself inside his house.

James D'Agostino, 17, and girlfriend Amber Walter, 18, were at a bus stop in front of Mr Atkinson's house early on the Saturday morning when they saw a bare-chested man standing in the front yard in the rain.

Ms Walter said the man called out: "Can you call the cops? Tell them there's a madman at (the address). "Tell them it's Bob Atkinson's son. He's the Queensland Police Commissioner."

Mr D'Agostino called police, who then doorknocked the neighbourhood. The incident lasted three hours but was not recorded as a significant event, which ensures senior police executives are briefed and advised of any follow-up action.

Senior police, including a commissioned officer, have told The Sunday Mail that the handling of the case was "highly unusual". They said such an incident, involving a report of an armed man, a senior police officer's son and negotiators called in, should have triggered a significant event message, even if there were mental health issues involved.

But a police spokeswoman denied policy had been breached. "The matter was dealt with under the provisions of the Mental Health Act and by Domestic Violence Order, not the Criminal Code, as is standard procedure in instances of this type," the spokeswoman said.

When asked if police were told by superior officers not to report it as a significant event the spokeswoman said: "This could be the case. "There was no reason to submit a significant event message, as senior officers were already briefed on the matter. There is nothing unusual or inappropriate about this."

No charges were laid against Mr Atkinson.

Mr D'Agostino said he was surprised he had not received any calls from police since his complaint. When he first saw the man he had his arms dangling over the front fence and was holding a knife. "It looked big. It was a decent size," Mr D'Agostino said. He called triple-0, reporting to police that the man had a knife. He then provided his name and phone number.

Ms Walter, who stayed in the bus stop shelter, said she was "pretty scared". "I just didn't want to move," she said. Once on the bus, Ms Walter phoned her mother and told her not to let her little brother go near the bus stop.

One elderly neighbour was asked by police if she was all right while another woman said she was asked if she had seen a woman and a child. One neighbour said the house where the incident occurred, which was next to a pathway through to another street, was virtually cordoned off by police. "They had a negotiator at the front door," he said. "There were well over a dozen police in uniform. The public walkway was blocked off by police."

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