More than 600 Queensland police officers caught breaking traffic laws in two years

A POLICE sergeant who let an unlicensed young woman drive his marked patrol car while he changed gears is one of more than 600 officers who have been caught breaking traffic laws in the past two years.

The officer from Dimbulah in far north Queensland was reported by a witness after the car swerved to miss a kangaroo and hit a tree, then drove off. He had been seen drinking at the Chillagoe Hotel, about 100km away, before the crash.

The Ethical Standards Command investigated the case, along with 44 others relating to police weaving through bus lanes, talking on mobile phones while driving, drink-driving on the job and even driving unlicensed.

Another 557 police were made to pay speeding or red-light offences out of their own pocket after it was found they had no valid excuse for breaking traffic laws.

In three more cases, the police service could not identify the driver and had to pay the "corporate" fine.

A Queensland Police Service spokesman said the infringements officers had to pay themselves amounted to "fewer than one a day".

He said police could only speed while responding to priority one or two jobs and go through a red light after stopping to ensure it was safe to do so.

Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers said the fines showed police were treated no differently to others who broke traffic laws.

"If anything, police face more scrutiny and harsher treatment because of their role in the community," Mr Leavers said.

"Given there's more than 10,000 police in Queensland driving millions of kilometres a year, the numbers are really very small."

But Terry O'Gorman from the Queensland Council of Civil Liberties said it was appalling so many police were breaking traffic laws and escaping fines or disciplinary action.

Of the 45 cases investigated by ESC, 29 resulted in the lowest form of police discipline "managerial guidance" for the officers involved.

They included a motorcycle officer who drove at 146km/h in an 80km/h zone on the Sunshine Coast to catch another rider exceeding the speed limit by 28km/h.

A senior constable spotted talking on her mobile phone while escorting a long wide load was also given managerial guidance, as was an officer who used a police car for personal jobs, leaving his station and being unable to respond to an urgent case.

Mr Leavers said managerial guidance was a "valuable tool" in the disciplinary system.

Mr O'Gorman said their light-handed treatment reflected the attitude among police that there was "one law for them and another for the rest of us".

The Dimbulah sergeant was ordered to pay $9000 restitution to cover vehicle repairs and had his pay docked by about $40 a week.
SUBSTANTIATED

* A constable whose licence had been suspended by SPER was caught on camera speeding despite not being on the way to a job.

* A policewoman was spotted talking on her mobile phone while escorting a long-wide load.

* A policeman talking on his mobile while driving told a civilian who questioned him that police were exempt from traffic laws.

* An off-duty constable pulled over by police when he was seen talking on his mobile phone then blew a blood-alcohol reading of 0.051 per cent.

* A police officer on the way to a disturbance at Woorabinda hit a kangaroo and then recorded an alcometer reading of 0.057 per cent after reporting the incident.

* A police car struck a woman walking through Brunswick Street Mall and offered her no assistance.

* An officer who dobbed in a police recruit applicant for speeding was disciplined himself for doing 143 in a 70km/h zone in an unauthorised pursuit while off-duty.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/officers-caught-in-road-law-breaches/story-e6freoof-1226133456822

Man died after being restrained by police in Spring Hill, Brisbane

POLICE used a neck restraint on a man during a scuffle in a Brisbane park before he became unconscious and later died, an inquest heard today.

Carl Antony Grillo, 42, died in the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital after the altercation with officers at Spring Hill on September 14, 2009.

Grillo was wanted by police for failing to appear in court in Caboolture Magistrates Court. He had been charged with drugs and weapons offences as well as breach of bail after being released from prison the previous month.

The Brisbane Coroners Court today heard one of the officers involved in Grillo's apprehension had used a neck restraint - a technique taught by the Queensland Police Service.

During their internal investigation of the incident, police said one of the officers had been in a scuffle with Grillo before he ended up on the ground. Another man helped that officer restrain Grillo before he was rolled into the recovery position.

Investigators said a second officer arrived and was talking to Grillo, but then the 42-year-old's breathing became shallower and an ambulance was called.

Witness Leith Phillips said she worked in an office block nearby and watched the drama unfold with her workmates. "We could hear some commotion outside. Because it kept going, we went out and had a look," she said.

Ms Phillips described two men pushing another "scruffy" looking man to the ground, who was tattooed and dressed in black. Once on the ground, she said the two men kneeled on his shoulder and lower back to restrain him. "The guy on the ground was sort of thrashing his head from side to side on the concrete," Ms Phillips said.

She said a third man arrived with a set of handcuffs, but the other two didn't get off him even after he was cuffed. She said one of the men looked around before giving the man on the ground a few quick hits to his head. "To me, it looked unnecessary," Ms Phillips said. "There were two guys on him, he was handcuffed, he wasn't going anywhere."

Ms Phillips agreed the hits were more like jabs but that they happened twice, and she discussed it with her colleagues. "We didn't believe there was a reason they needed to do that," she said.

Ms Phillips said she saw the men flip the tattooed man over and start talking to him, and she could see he was still breathing when they put him on his front.

But about five minutes later, she said they turned him over a second time and checked his vital signs. "When they got on the phone, we knew what they were doing. We assumed they were phoning the ambulance," she said.

SOURCE

Qld. Police to be banned from investigating misconduct in their own ranks

QUEENSLAND police will be banned from investigating serious misconduct in their own ranks with private investigators or interstate officers to be used instead, under new State Government policy.

It is one of 57 recommendations from a three-person independent panel into the police complaints, discipline and misconduct system and was adopted by State Cabinet this week.

But Premier Anna Bligh has been accused of being "secretive" by sitting on the decision and not telling police or the public immediately.

The Queensland Police Union also said it was "payback" for last week's wage win in the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission, which will cost the Government an extra $87 million. "For the State Cabinet to secretly endorse changes to the Queensland Police Service and not tell anyone about it smacks of underhandedness of the highest order," QPU president Ian Leavers said.

"The Queensland Government should have had the honesty and the integrity to inform police of all the changes they had made when they actually made them."

Currently, the Crime and Misconduct Commission seconds QPS officers to investigate serious complaints.

The other recommendations, which are also expected to be implemented, include:

* Additional power for the CMC to change disciplinary decisions by the QPS if they deem them too lenient.

* New timeframes for reporting.

* Limited tenure for police and CMC officers in the Ethical Standards Command.

* Creating a joint CMC and QPS "ethical health scorecard" .

* Development of a business case for targeted drug and alcohol testing for police.

A spokeswoman for Ms Bligh denied there was anything secret about the initiatives, which were part of the Simple Effective Transparent Strong report, tabled in Parliament in May.

However, she would not say why an announcement on their adoption had not been forthcoming and did not deny a decision had been made.

The Premier said last night, in a statement, the Government was committed to releasing its response by the end of August. "There are 57 recommendations and we are giving our consideration to all of them," she said. "What's more I have asked for more work to be done around a number of them, and the Government is on track to release its full response as promised by the end of August."

Mr Leavers said the new system would "add significant costs and expenditure to the Queensland Budget at a time when we need to be spending every government dollar on frontline services not more pointless bureaucracy".

SOURCE

Queensland police misconduct files reveal corruption, favouristism, sexual misconduct

A POLICE officer said he would let a woman off for mail theft if she had sex with him, another three officers were caught stealing while on duty and 10 more were nabbed for drink-driving - including one on the way to work, fraud and misconduct investigations have revealed.

More than 20 Queensland police officers have quit in the past 18 months after being investigated over serious incidents ranging from corruption and favouritism, sexual misconduct and inappropriate behaviour.

However, most of those investigations were subsequently dropped because they were no longer employed by Queensland Police Service, documents obtained by The Courier-Mail under Right to Information have revealed.

Other misconduct investigations that were substantiated included one where a police officer demanded a woman he was investigating for mail theft "show him her breasts", then proceeded to sexually assault her.

The (police officer) told her he had "bent a few rules", that he would "take care of a few charges and not prosecute her", documents reveal.

There are thousands of code of conduct complaints against police officers each year but a Queensland Police Service spokesman said only a "small fraction" were substantiated following investigations.

Other internal investigations into officers include:

* "Maintaining a relationship" with a career criminal and driving him away from a crime scene following an assault.

* Child pornography found on home computer.

* Pole dancing with a pool cue on top of a pool table and then inappropriately touching another officer in view CCTV cameras.

* Keeping nine guns under bed.

* Accessing police files for personal use.

Most officers caught drink-driving remained on the police force but lost their driving licences for a period of time after the matters were heard in court.

Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers said it was not surprising in a workforce of 15,000 people.

"The important issue is that these people have been identified and have either been dismissed, resigned or have been provided with managerial guidance to address their behavior so that they continue to maintain the high standards of the Queensland Police Service," he said.

"The police union does not support any person who deliberately engages in criminal, corrupt or illegal behavior but sometimes people genuinely make mistakes and we will always support those police involved," Mr Leavers said.

DIRTY DOZEN

CORRUPTION AND FAVOURITISM: The officer demanded a woman he was investigating for mail theft to "show him her breasts and sexually assaulted her". He took her for a drive in a police vehicle, "removed his penis from his pants and demanded oral sex". He later telephoned the woman he was investigating seeking phone sex and told her he'd "bent a few rules" to take care of the charges against her and see that she wasn't prosecuted. The investigation was substantiated and the officer resigned.

SEXUAL MISCONDUCT: Taskforce Argos found images of child exploitation material on the officer's home hard drive. He had been accessing the material over a number of years. The officer resigned and court action was taken.

CORRUPTION AND FAVOURITISM: An officer maintained a relationship with a career criminal who was under witness protection, even being prepared to drive him away from the scene of an assault before police arrived. Officer resigned and the investigation did not reach a conclusion.

CORRUPTION AND FAVOURITISM: The officer took a body to the undertaker where his wife worked. He resigned from QPS and the investigation did not reach a conclusion.

INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOUR: The off-duty officer was on top of a pool table and "pole dancing" with a pool cue. She approached a woman, placed her arm around her shoulders and neck, squeezing tight. There was CCTV footage of the incident and the officer resigned and the investigation did not reach a conclusion.

PUBLIC NUISANCE: The officer's brother failed to leave a licensed premises, was arrested and taken to the police station following a joint drinking session. The off-duty officer then banged on the station's front door loudly, yelled abuse at police and was drunk. His brother was released and went back to the hotel to join the officer after being refused entry. When police arrived, the officer was involved in a fight at the hotel. When his police colleagues tried to intervene, the officer pushed them away, swore and abused them. He was taken away by a friend before he was arrested. The officer resigned.

INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOUR: Officer picked up intoxicated youths who he knew as part of "Adopt-a-cop" and drove them around for hours and let them sleep at his home. He was provided with "managerial guidance".

EXCESSIVE FORCE/ASSAULT OFF DUTY: The complainant alleges the officer punched him in the face when an argument broke out during a drinking session. The officer has since died.

COVERING UP INAPPROPRIATE CONDUCT: Officer lied about a speeding fine after being caught doing 91km/h in a 70km/h zone. He falsified a report claiming he was "speeding to intercept a white van following too close to another vehicle". The officer now admits he did not intercept the vehicle and at the time he had "accumulated near maximum points on his drivers licence".

STEALING: An officer used a police car to transport fence panels he stole while on night patrol. They were later erected in his own front garden. He was helped by another officer. One of them resigned - also suspected of stealing shed panels - and both were ordered to undertake 120 hours of community service and pay restitution.

STEALING: An officer was in possession of a ute that had been reported stolen and the insurance claim had settled. The officer resigned and was fined $1000 and given a 12 month good behaviour bond.

STEALING: An officer attended a break and enter at a private business and convinced the owner that an industrial-grade high-pressure cleaner would be seized as evidence and then destroyed. In actual fact, the officer took the cleaner home. He was also accused of stealing paint tins from the scene of a fire. The officer resigned and the investigation did not reach a conclusion.

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Qld. Police suppress 'appalling' video of misbehaviour by one of their own

A video showing an anti-terrorism squad officer stripped to his underpants and gyrating his groin in the face of a drunk Aboriginal colleague has been suppressed at the request of Queensland Police.

The suppression order comes ahead of the release of a major review of police disciplinary procedures, raising further questions about the culture within Queensland’s police force and why the officer was not sacked.

The security camera footage, taken at the McDonald’s restaurant in the south-east Queensland town of Kingaroy on March 23 last year, shows Constable Daniel Kennedy straddling the Aboriginal officer while nine other non-indigenous officers watched on.

Constable Kennedy’s actions came to light when police reviewed the footage during an investigation into the Aboriginal officer’s arrest at the restaurant late on the first night of the state’s annual police rugby league carnival.

A Queensland Police report into the incident described Constable Kennedy actions thus: "You approached …removed your shorts, lifted your left leg and gyrated your groin in front of his face."

'APPALLING' ACTIONS

The Special Emergency Response Team officer’s actions were described as “appalling” by Deputy Commissioner Ian Stewart, who presided over an internal police disciplinary action last November.

"I have seen the footage and I am appalled by your behaviour … I am sure that had members of the public witnessed your behaviour, they would have been affronted by it … In your case, not only did you commit an act resulting in your conviction for a public nuisance offence but, if observed by a member of the public, it had the potential not only to be seen as offensive but also taunting the dignity of [the other officer], together with racial overtones."

Deputy Commissioner Stewart delivered his findings in the presence of Constable Kennedy, who denied it was a racist act.

However, Deputy Commissioner Stewart found Constable Kennedy’s conduct had “tarnished the good image of the majority of members of this organisation, which we strive to maintain …”

“Additionally your conduct had the potential to result in significant publicity and embarrassment to the Service and its members,” he said.

Deputy Commissioner Stewart's report said that Constable Kennedy had kept his underpants on, but an investigation had revealed the incident with the intoxicated and sleeping Aboriginal officer was not consensual.

“I note the argument submitted that your actions were done in jest and not intended to offend your friend,” Deputy Commissioner Stewart said. “I acknowledge there is no evidence you exposed yourself or that there was any contact, deliberate or accidental, between your genital area and [the other officer]. Further [he] has regarded this as a joke.”

FOOTAGE SUPPRESSED

Queensland's administrative appeals tribunal, QCAT, has ordered the CCTV footage never be shown.

An application by SBS for its release was denied, in spite of assurances to conceal the Aboriginal officer's identity.

Tribunal member Susan Booth ruled the footage is "capable of offending public decency" and could still cause the officer public ridicule and humiliation.

Former Queensland police inspector Col Dillion, once the highest ranking Aboriginal officer in Australia, retired a decade ago warning of the police culture towards indigenous officers.

“I think it is absolutely reprehensible, the actions of the police … given for starters, the police officer, any police officers for that matter should be setting the highest possible standards of behaviour for society,” he said.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service's Greg Shadbolt said Constable Kennedy’s actions had besmirched the reputations of his colleagues.

“The Queensland police service has the largest vested interest in cleaning up this area because there are many many officers who work long and hard in very trying circumstances, and do a tremendous job, as a general rule, and for them to have their reputation besmirched by conduct of this nature is really beyond the pale,” he said.

“One must feel really sorry for the other officers and wonder what they must think of all this.”

The Aboriginal officer did not lodge a complaint about the incident. He declined to be interviewed by SBS.

$250 FINE

The police disciplinary report states Constable Kennedy “did not believe his actions were inappropriate when he considers the circumstances of the incident. He stated this type of behaviour had occurred at other police football carnivals".

He was immediately stood down from anti-terrorism duties and later pleaded guilty to public nuisance, for which he was fined $250 with no conviction recorded in Kingaroy magistrates court.

Despite suppressing video of the incident, QCAT rejected a police application to suppress an audio recording of the deputy commissioner Ian Steward's disciplinary hearing, citing public interest.

It reveals that Constable Kennedy’s pay was frozen for a year, but this did not prevent his reinstatement to the elite Special Emergency Response Team.

ATSILS’ Greg Shadbolt said the outcome seemed “woefully inadequate”. “As I say, it really does demonstrate yet again the fact that police investigating police in terms of outcomes, simply doesn't work,” he said.

Mr Dillion, now the acting director of the University of Queensland's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit, said if a similar incident took place in that institution, the offender would be sacked.

“I'd certainly expect the person would be dealt with in the harshest possible terms,” he said.

In a brief statement to SBS, Queensland's police minister (mr) Neil Roberts said the issue is an internal police matter

A review of police disciplinary procedures ordered by Queensland premier Anna Bligh is due for release by September. It comes after the lack of disciplinary action against police investigators in the Palm Island death-in-custody case of Cameron Doomadgee. The issue of police investigating police is a major concern of the review.

Mr Shadbolt said the facts of the Kingaroy incident were not in question, placing the focus on Constable Kennedy’s punishment. “Anyone else, working for any other organisation would have been dismissed and the question I think the public is asking is should the police have lower standards than the rest of society,” he said.

Queensland Police told SBS the matter had been investigated by its Ethical Standards Command, and that “disciplinary charges were laid against this officer in accordance with the findings of that investigation”.

SOURCE

Renee Eaves vs. Barry Donnelly and the Qld. Police heating up

From Last March:

A former swimsuit model is suing the Queensland Police Service for $200,000 in damages, claiming she was repeatedly harassed by a traffic policeman and wrongfully arrested.

Gold Coast mum Renee Eaves, 34, is claiming a former Brisbane constable intercepted her 15 to 20 times between 2004 and 2006 and was known to regularly park outside the Brisbane unit she lived in at the time.

In a statement of claim lodged in the Brisbane District Court, the former Miss Bikini World said the officer often pulled her over for minor traffic infringements and once fined her for being a car passenger with a twisted seatbelt.

Apparently the case goes to court this coming Monday. An interesting twist is that Crown Law are apparently trying to spy on Ms Eaves. Sherman Oh, for the Crown Solicitor, inadvertently copied Ms Eaves in on an email in which he said he was going to try to get the Justice Dept. to break into her restricted Facebook page. I understand that the Sunday Mail are at the moment looking into that extraordinary behaviour. Ms Eaves has got somebody rattled!

Donnelly is still in the force apparently. My interpretation is that he tried to get free sex off Ms Eaves but when she knocked him back he got vindictive.

A "no pursuit" policy in Queensland?

Police pursuits have their problems but stopping them altogether is just bureaucratic cowardice. Comments from Peter Pyke below, a former Queensland police officer who still has contacts in the service. His mobile: 0427 388 598

We recently saw the CMC’s report into police pursuits published. It proves that many drivers of vehicles which evade police pursuits these days are car thieves who are not to be found at the address attached to the vehicle’s Queensland Transport records. Duh!

Who does not remember the stolen yellow Holden Monaro sedan which was allowed to ram a cop car in a servo then continue to drive unrestricted around the Gold Coast area for at least a week whilst it was being used in crimes because someone in the QPS came up with a no-pursuit policy? I can’t. I’ve personally written up two diabolically insane situations here on the Darling Downs where criminals not known to police driving stolen vehicles and continuing to commit crime could only be ‘observed’ by police, despite late-night and low traffic situations being highly favourable for a short chase unlikely to result in anything other than an arrest.

Can anyone else see the Keystone Cops aspects of this policy which I say is contributing to the number of armed robberies and a general disrespect for police?

Any hoon worth their salt must be laughing up their sleeves at the Queensland coppers ‘no pursuit’ policy. Any copper worth their’s must be fuming. Any armed robber is likely to pinch themselves when they do a runner and the cops have to simply peel off as soon as the baddie puts his/her foot down.

Citizens should be outraged. Part of policing is catching bad guys. Part of catching bad guys is chasing them, on foot, in cars, in boats and in the air.

The CMC report also confirms that the customary penalty for drivers who fail to stop for police who must not fail to stop is about the same price of a big night out for a teen driver - $300.00. Is that a real deterrent? No, it’s a seriously unfunny joke and if police are to continue to be stopped from pursuing stolen vehicles which are used to commit crimes, specialist ground-air units to track these vehicles and arrest offenders when they are stopped must be formed as has been implemented with marked success in some US states. Until this is done, the no-pursuit policy must be relaxed for competent police drivers who have been trained to chase safely and – like me – have performed hundreds of high-speed pursuits without incident. That’s part of their job, it goes with the territory.

That reminds me, why is it that Queensland has no police helicopters? Non? Zero. Zilch? Zip? As I said before, its not cash. Last year, someone in the QPS failed to expend $16 million. That would have paid for two choppers, or one chopper and a lot of other things. Last year, someone in the QPS earned a pat on the head for helping out the Bligh Government’s bottom line. Personally, I think they deserve a kick up the arse for failing my community.

By email from the author

Police Officer of the Year escapes conviction for drink-driving

Excellent: Now we all know how to get off a drink-driving charge. Say that a conviction would "impact on your 'economic or social well-being'"

THE Gold Coast's Police Officer of the Year has escaped a conviction for drink-driving after a court accepted it would impact on his 'economic or social well-being'.

Police asked for a conviction to be recorded against Senior Constable Michael Froggatt but Southport magistrate Terry Duroux exercised his discretion not to impose one.

Mr Duroux said he accepted Sen Const Froggatt had shown 'very genuine' remorse and faced being demoted and having his pay docked by the Queensland Police Service.

Sen Const Froggatt pleaded guilty today to drink-driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.085 per cent after being picked up in Surfers Paradise following a night-shift at the weekend. He is believed to have gone to the Sin City nightclub after finishing work.

Sen-Const Froggatt has been stood down from operational duties and faces an internal investigation after breath-testing himself before getting into his vehicle.

Defence lawyer Bill Potts said police were subjected to the same 'failure, weaknesses and misjudgments' as everyone and Sen Const Froggatt accepted he had let down his colleagues and the community. But he said the community asked 'an awful lot' of police and Sen Const Froggatt had worked two 13-hour shifts before he was nabbed for drink-driving. "Is it any wonder a man has a drink to relax and take the edge off the tension of working in Surfers Paradise?" he told the court. Mr Potts said his client had also been shamed in the media.

Mr Duroux said he accepted the community did ask a lot of police and took into account character references, including one from the vice-chancellor of Bond University where Sen Const Froggatt is studying a criminology degree part-time.

The magistrate fined Sen Const Froggatt $400 and disqualified him from driving for three months, but ordered no conviction be recorded.

SOURCE

Cop of the Year arrested for drink-driving

THE Gold Coast's Police Officer of the Year has been arrested for drink-driving and faces a court date as well as possible disciplinary action.

Senior Constable Michael Froggatt was nabbed while off-duty and in a private vehicle in Surfers Paradise about 5am on Sunday after working a night-shift. The 34-year-old officer was breath-tested by colleagues and allegedly recorded a blood alcohol concentration of .085 per cent. He was given a notice to appear in Southport Magistrates Court on Wednesday. A police spokeswoman said disciplinary action was also being considered.

Sen-Const Froggatt is a detective, now working in uniform in Surfers Paradise, who has worked on some of the Gold Coast's biggest criminal cases. He has also been undertaking a criminology degree part-time at Bond University where he serves as a 'campus cop', giving students crime and public safety advice.

Last August, Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson presented Sen-Const Froggatt with the Rotary Gold Coast Police Officer of the Year award for efforts including implementing a Neighbourhood Watch scheme. His reign is due to end next month.

After a spate of police were caught drink-driving, Mr Atkinson last year introduced tougher discIplinary penalties for his officers, including dismissal for high-range blood alcohol readings above .15 per cent cent.

However, a Sunshine Coast officer who was sacked after blowing .235 per cent successfully challenged his dismissal in the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal which ordered his reinstatement.

Last month, Mr Atkinson said random drug and alcohol testing for Queensland police was 'inevitable'. This followed a Crime and Misconduct Commission investigation into Gold Coast police taking drugs and drinking free alcohol in nightclubs.

SOURCE

Two Queensland cops face sack for unauthorised use of police computers

TOP brass are poised to sack two cops for accessing the details of private citizens from the police database. While details remain sketchy, the nature of the offences - which are unrelated - is serious enough for the careers of both policemen to be put on hold.

The first involves a sergeant, 52, from the Far North policing region, which takes in Cairns and Cape York. Police said in a statement that he "inappropriately accessed information on the QPS computer system without authorisation".

The second involves a constable, 28, from the Northern policing region, which takes in Townsville and Mt Isa. "The stand down action relates to allegations of domestic violence and misuse of the QPS computer system," police said.

The Queensland Police Service computer database, Q-Prime, stores the criminal and private details of Queenslanders and it is an offence for an officer to access information without a valid work-related reason.

Ethical Standards Command investigated both incidents and the police executive decided on the current disciplinary actions. The officers have the right to fight the actions taken against them.

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Qld. Police investigation unchanged by report

Premier Anna Bligh is not serious about police corruption and misbehaviour

THE case for reform of the Queensland Police Service's internal complaints and disciplinary system could not have been better put than by one of its own. After a series of high-profile scandals about police investigating police, a veteran sergeant laid bare a fix to breaking the culture of protecting their own within the 10,000-strong service.

Interviewed by a government-ordered review panel into a system increasingly under attack, the frustrated officer aired the views of many in uniform.

"We should have learned our lessons from [the Palm Island experience] about police investigating police and allegations of bias, but we haven't," he told the panel of independent experts, under a condition of anonymity.

"Continually allowing police who have close relationships with each other to investigate each other does nothing for maintaining professionalism and will no doubt be heavily scrutinised down the track if files are not investigated to the satisfaction of [others in the system]".

But they didn't listen. Despite the panel this week handing down a damning report with 57 recommendations for reform, police will continue to investigate police.

The failure of the panel to proffer alternate models, including the establishment of a police ombudsman, is in stark contrast to the worrying findings of its report. It concludes the police's internal complaints and disciplinary procedures are "dysfunctional and unsustainable".

"Complaints and police are subjected to a complex, administratively burdensome, overly legalistic and adversarial process that is dishonoured by chronic delays, inconsistent and disproportionate outcomes," the 160-page report says.

The main catalyst for the review was the discredited investigation into the 2004 death in custody of Palm Island man Mulrunji Doomadgee.

Last year, the Crime and Misconduct Commission recommended disciplinary charges against six officers involved in the investigations, which were later rejected by Queensland Police.

Instead, four officers who led the initial investigation - described by deputy coroner Christine Clements as lacking "transparency, objectivity and independence" - underwent "managerial guidance" along with two senior officers who later reviewed and endorsed their probe. In the Doomadgee case and several others senior police have laid some of the blame for these investigations on the CMC.

They argue the anti-corruption watchdog, or even a new police oversight agency, should take on much more, if not all, investigations into police for no other reason than removing a perception of bias and giving the public some sense of independence. It is a fair cop. Despite a 350-strong staff, and $40 million budget, the CMC in 2009-10 investigated fewer than 2 per cent of the approximately 3500 complaints against police.

The CMC cases usually involve allegations of official misconduct warranting criminal charges or the officer's dismissal. All other complaints are automatically referred to the Queensland Police for investigation.

And many of those complaints are handed to police in the same station where the officer under investigation works. "This is where police who know each other, and may work together, investigate the other. This scenario presents an inherent conflict for objective impartial investigations, and outcomes," the report says.

The report says some police overcooked their investigations out of fear of being criticised, building huge files as they looked "down every rabbit hole", even for less serious complaints.

The practice of police investigating police was brought about by former premier Peter Beattie who, in January 2002 introduced legislation amalgamating the then Criminal Justice Commission and the Crime Commission to form the CMC.

It followed an earlier trial conducted by the CJC and police to hand over minor complaints to police as part of a "capacity building" drive across the public service to handle its own problems and, in doing so, enhance integrity.

At the time, Beattie told parliament: "In recognition of reform within the police service since the Fitzgerald inquiry [1987], the bill returns responsibility to police for investigating and dealing with police misconduct."

The amendments were also intended to free the CMC's caseload and quicken the pace of investigations.

It didn't happen. "Excessive time frames for resolution of matters continue to undermine achievement of an efficient, effective and economic system in which stakeholders and the wider community can have confidence," the report says.

After the release of the report, Anna Bligh conceded the disciplinary and complaints system needed reform to restore public confidence.

The report is open for public consultation for the next six weeks. The government's response is expected several months later. Queensland Police have not commented.

And while the panel looked at other models, including an ombudsman to handle police complaints, there is little movement in addressing the issue of police investigating police, which has undermined the system in the eyes of the public.

Instead, among the 57 recommendations the panel seeks to remove police investigators in only the most serious cases, those now handled by the CMC.

Under the reform, officers seconded to the CMC will be banned from investigating, with cases led by private investigators or interstate police brought in to the watchdog.

Terry O'Gorman, president of the Australian Council for Civil Liberties, says the report shows the government is not serious about tackling the "crisis of confidence" in Queensland Police.

O'Gorman says the Australian Crime Commission and the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity provide models for recruiting outside investigators to probe complaints against Queensland's police.

" More than 90 per cent of complaints are automatically referred back to police, with some officers investigating police in their own station, who they socialise with," he says. "It is a backward step; it is not credible.

"Outside police are necessary because of the perception and, sometimes the reality of police investigating police leads to a whitewash."

SOURCE

QUEENSLAND’S TOP COP A DEAD MAN WALKING

Press release:

Queensland Party candidate for Toowoomba North and former ALP MP Peter Pyke today undertook that Queensland police commissioner Bob Atkinson would be sacked on the spot if the Queensland Party gains enough MPs to control balance of power in the Queensland Parliament in the next state election.

Pyke, a former Queensland police sergeant himself who figured in the Fitzgerald inquiry, is expected to become a spokesperson for a senior portfolio when these positions are announced by Queensland Party Leader, Aidan McLindon MP for Beaudesert, commencing next week.

Pyke has been prominent over the past three years targeting Atkinson’s leadership, stridently demanding that the commissioner and both deputies be sacked. Controversial deputy commissioner Kathy Rynders has since retired after what many see as a dummy spit when Atkinson’s contract was surprisingly renewed ahead of time under eyebrow-raising circumstances following rumours of messy high jinks between Rynders and Bligh Government Minister Karen Struthers.

The Queensland Party’s Toowoomba North candidate says Atkinson is a disgraced political puppet who has distinguished himself by allowing the police union to run the Service at critical times while backing up the union in its adamant stance that no Queensland police officer ever does anything wrong.

“Under Atkinson’s failed leadership, we’ve had the Palm Island death in custody cover-up with not one cop involved charged with anything, we’ve had Queenslanders and our tourist guests bashed all over the state with secret payouts to many when thug coppers’ violence was captured by their own CCTV, for Cripe’s sake!” Pyke says. “We’ve had the Taser debacle which continues to play out and we now get to watch as the CMC and QPS do a wink and a nod as Gold Coast police corruption is smoothed over with the sacrifice of just a few low-level players,” Pyke says.

Pyke says the QPS now suffers substantial morale problems, lags other comparable services technologically and should have been equipped with rotary-winged aircraft a decade ago.

“Commissioner Atkinson's record is pathetic - he wouldn’t make a commissioner’s bootlace!” Pyke says. "My message to him for the past three years has been ‘don’t come Monday’. If Victoria thinks it's got problems with Simon Overland – and they have - they are not alone."

Pyke is understood to have expressed a viewpoint to the Queensland Party about being appointed the Party’s police spokesperson.

Pyke says the Queensland Party will replace Atkinson with a successful and effective police director who will be more than just a successful detective with nothing else going for him. He’d also like to see a Police Board.

“What do detectives know about running a modern police service?” Pyke asks. “I’d put them all back into uniform unless they were on an operation. Just like Royal Commissioner Tony Fitzgerald QC recommended 20 years ago.”

Pyke says he’d also like to see Queensland’s crop of fat cops put on the beat until they trimmed down.

MEDIA CONTACT: PETER PYKE 0427 388 598 peterpyke@optusnet.com.au

Police culture must change, warns CMC chairman

THE chief of Queensland's crime watchdog has warned it could take generations to change the state's police culture. The comments by Crime and Misconduct Commission chairman Martin Moynihan came as an independent review found the police complaints system was dysfunctional, unsustainable, plagued by chronic delays and urgently in need of a major overhaul.

Mr Moynihan said "no tolerance" change must come from the top but admitted it would not be easy. "(Police) do a difficult job and are often in a dangerous environment so you have to depend on one another (and) you build a culture that supports that," he said. "In a sense, that's not going to go away, but . . . if they address (discipline) in different ways, it'll be easier for them and they'll get better acceptance."

The scathing report, sparked by the 2004 Palm Island death in custody case and tabled in State Parliament, has recommended 57 changes to the beleaguered discipline and misconduct system.

It called for officers seconded to the Crime and Misconduct Commission to be banned from investigating their own, a practice that has been publicly condemned and instead using private investigators or interstate police.

But former high-ranking government bureaucrat Simone Webbe, who co-wrote the report, insisted the recommendation did not question officers' integrity but addressed negative public perceptions.

She also recommended additional powers for the CMC to challenge disciplinary decisions handed out by police, along with the right to refer cases deemed too lenient to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal for review.

The State Government has supported the findings in principle and will form a solid position after public consultation closes in July.

The Queensland Police Union slammed the report as an ineffective instrument of reform that gave the CMC too much power. "It now gives the CMC the opportunity to be judge, jury and executioner if they do not agree with a decision made by the police service discipline system," QPU president Ian Leavers said.

The CMC has aimed to hand cases back to the police in a bid to boost the force's capacity to internally deal with allegations, but the report found the "devolution" policy meant complaints were referred down chains of command even "to the same station for investigation". "This is where police who know each other, and may work together, investigate the other. This scenario presents an inherent conflict for objective impartial investigations," it stated.

Often investigators then "overcooked" their inquiries for fear of being criticised or subjected to a misconduct probe themselves, amassing thousands of pages of evidence as they went "down every rabbit hole", even for less serious complaints. This created a "major chokepoint" in the system, the report found, with some cases in limbo as much as three years. It recommended seven months be the limit for serious cases and 28 days for lower-level allegations.

Police Minister Neil Roberts yesterday told The Courier-Mail "significant change" was needed but insisted the contentious practice of police investigating their own was legitimate. "I believe that there is a need for all organisations to be held accountable for identifying, detecting and dealing with its own," he said.

Yesterday's report also raised serious concerns about the dysfunctional information technology system, first earmarked for urgent upgrade a decade ago. A replacement system was planned under the phase three of the controversial QPRIME intranet rollout but that phase was scrapped.

The QPS said it would consider the report before making a submission.

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Sir Joh's Police Whitewash Tribunal is back

'Dysfunctional' Qld. police complaints system slammed in independent review

An independent review has found the Queensland Police Service complaints system is "dysfunctional and unsustainable". Premier Anna Bligh this morning tabled the report by independent experts, which recommends a new management system to deal with complaints and disciplinary matters.

She told State Parliament at Mackay the report “describes a system much in need of reform”. It states: “Complainants and police are subjected to a complex, administratively burdensome, overly legalistic and adversarial process that is dishonoured by chronic delays, inconsistent and disproportionate outcomes.”

The report outlines 57 recommendations, including that police officers no longer be able to investigate serious police misconduct at the CMC, instead using investigators from other states.

Timeframes for reporting on complaints would also be limited to seven months for more serious complaints and 28 days for minor complaints.

Ms Bligh said some cases had been investigated for up to three years “and that is unacceptable”.

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Queensland cop suspended over motorbike incident

A QUEENSLAND cop who raced away from NSW police when they tried to pull him over while he was riding his motorbike has been stood down. It is believed the incident involving the 42-year-old constable happened in 2009 and that he subsequently lied to investigators about the matter.

The officer is from the south east police region, which takes in the Gold Coast, Logan and Coomera.

It is another blow to the reputation of Queensland police, coming just three days after another officer was stood down.

Last Saturday, a constable from the north coast region was suspended for allegedly committing a domestic violence offence whilst off duty.

"No further details are able to be released at this time as his alleged actions are currently subject to an ongoing internal disciplinary investigation," a QPS statement read.

Both officers can appeal the decisions but neither has the backing of the Queensland Police Union which was criticised earlier this year for routinely defending "indefensible" actions by some officers.

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Qld. State Government settles out of court with woman sexually assaulted in watch-house by two police officers


Scum Buxton above

THE victim of a watch-house sexual assault by two disgraced former Maroochydoore police officers has won a damages payout from the State Government on the eve of a Supreme Court lawsuit hearing. Cindy Felsman, 32, sued the state after she was assaulted by rogue officers Peter Anthony Buxton and Zane Anthony Slingsby in the Maroochdyoore watch-house in 2005.

In 2007, Buxton was sentenced to six years' jail after pleading guilty to 24 charges of sexually assaulting women prisoners. Slingsby was sentenced to four years jail' on 10 charges, suspended after serving two years, for his role in abusing female inmates.

Ms Felsman's damages claim was to be heard in the Brisbane Supreme Court in a two-day hearing starting on Monday. However, the state today agreed to a confidential out-of-court settlement.

Ms Felsman said she was happy with the outcome and could now move on with her life. "I am also relieved I did not have to relive the details of my ordeal in open court," she said.

Ms Felsman's lawyer, Greg Smith of Smiths Lawyers, said the settlement would allow his client and her family to rebuild their lives after suffering years of trauma. "It was an appalling matter involving police in positions of power taking advantage of Cindy and other women who, while incarcerated, should never have been subjected to such atrocities," he said.

"The settlement also acknowledges the responsibility governments must take over those under their charge, especially when they are employed in positions of trust relating to public welfare and law enforcement."

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Stupid and oppressive Queensland cops again

What was gained by any of this? The Qld cops have no time to follow up car theft but time for this nonsense!

We've all seen it happen on TV a zillion times. But when a police officer recited to me those well-rehearsed words – 'you have the right to remain silent … ' – I felt sick in the stomach.

The conversation with the two officers had started off in a friendly enough manner. I was in a session at the AusCERT security conference on the Gold Coast when I received a call from Detective Senior Constable Errol Coultis.

I thought he was from the Queensland Police media unit to begin with, but it soon became clear he was an officer who wanted to question me over a story I had written regarding a security expert's demonstration of vulnerabilities on social media sites such as Facebook.

The expert, Christian Heinrich, had delivered a slideshow presentation on Sunday to about 20 people showing how he had been able to gain access to the Facebook photos of the wife of a rival security expert, without a username or password. I hadn't been able to attend the presentation, but he went through it personally with me straight afterwards.

I thought it made a great story – a flaw in the system that meant not everything you uploaded to social networks was secure, even if placed behind a privacy-protected profile – and the yarn was published on Fairfax's news sites yesterday.

Hours later, Coultis's phone call came completely out of the blue. I walked out of the session and met him and his female offsider about 4.15pm, and, at my request, we went into a meeting room to discuss the matter in private.

They told me they were recording the conversation. I had my wits about me enough to ask if I could also record the conversation; Coultis agreed and so I pressed record on my iPhone.

For about half an hour I stood in this room – its only adornment dozens of green chairs stacked against one wall – and co-operated with what Coultis and his colleague described simply as "questioning" over the incident. I was reassured when he said he had no intention of arresting me and I agreed to help with his inquiries. Neither of them wore police uniforms – their casual clothes, including Coultis's AusCERT-branded T-shirt, comforted me further.

The officers were polite and there was even an amusing interlude when the female officer's iPhone rang, disrupting her recording of our conversations, and I gave Coultis some advice about how to set the iPhone to avoid further interruptions.

They seemed to treat me like a technical expert, and sought my explanation of what Heinrich had done. I felt like they were trying to get me to admit that his actions were illegal. I told them it was not my job to decide that – after all, I was only reporting on the matter. It's their job to decide whether what he demonstrated was against the law.

About half an hour into the questioning, Coultis left the room to liaise briefly with other officers. When he returned, he said: "What we're going to have to do, I'm afraid, Ben, is we're going to be taking possession of your iPad."

Now, anyone who knows me knows that my iPad and I are inseparable. As a technology reporter and a 20-year-old who has lived and breathed gadgets, my life is played out in tweets and Facebook posts. This device had become the centrepiece of my life – it's integral to my work because it's where I keep notes about stories, but it's also the digital tool I use to run my social and personal life.

When I questioned under what legislation they had the right to seize my iPad, Coultis told me I was under arrest in relation to receiving unlawfully obtained property.

What? What I had thought had been a simple case of answering some police questions had suddenly taken a turn for the worse. I felt as if I had been double-crossed. It seemed ridiculous that I, as the "messenger" who reported on what the police were now saying was a criminal matter, could now be the target.

Feeling shaken but with the adrenalin pumping, I phoned my boss and tried to contact lawyers. It was another one of those odd TV moments, when you're given the right to make a phone call. I did that, but being a Gen Y, I also tweeted the fact to my 5000 Twitter followers that I had been arrested.

Another hour of talking ensued, but now I was under instruction from my lawyers to keep my mouth shut. The officers spent much of the time on the phone to my boss and the lawyers, explaining why I was being held and what charges might be laid. At one point, they mentioned that I could be held legally for up to eight hours.

Throughout this, my phone did not stop ringing and buzzing as the Twitterverse took up my case. Hundreds of tweets were directed my way and to the Queensland Police media unit, questioning why a journalist had been arrested and sending me messages of support. At one point, when Coultis accompanied me to the toilet because I desperately needed to go, I showed him the responses.

Shortly before 6pm, I was given a receipt for my iPad and Coultis told me that I was "un-arrested". I was free to go, but, to the best of my knowledge, my iPad remains at an exhibits facility in Brisbane. I was told that forensics officers were going to make a complete copy of the information on my iPad, whether it related to this matter or not.

I feel like I have been unfairly targeted. Journalists must be able to report what they observe – that's what they've been doing for ages and so to see this kind of policing occurring is very alarming.

I believed that, as a journalist, I had protections. But it seems not. And to lose a device that contains not only private but work-related information is also another seriously alarming development for a journalist.

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Missing cop Mick Isles's son says police were 'vultures'

THE son of a missing police officer choked back tears as he remembered his "best mate" in the Brisbane Coroner's Court. Steven Isles spoke on behalf of the family of Senior-Sergeant Mick Isles, 58, who vanished on September 23, 2009.

"My father was my best mate and it really was a disgrace to see such a display," he said of Queensland Police's investigation into his dad's disappearance.

He claimed Queensland Police had victimised his family and behaved like "absolute vultures".

A pre-inquest hearing heard the former officer-in-charge at Ayr had been scheduled to attend a training course in Townsville on the day he was missing, but failed to show up. The unmarked police car he'd been driving was later found in a dry creek bed, 80km south-west of Ayr. He hasn't been seen since.

Counsel assisting the coroner, Peter Johns, said the police officer's absence at the course did not raise concerns until his wife, Fiona, contacted police later that day. He said Mrs Isles also found notes expressing regret from her husband, but none which made any reference to suicide.

A gold prospector south-west of Ayr is expected to give evidence at his inquest, and is believed to be the last person to have seen him alive.

The court heard Sen-Sgt Isles had been under a great deal of stress due to a Crime and Misconduct Commission investigation, for which he was ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing.

Mr Johns said Sen-Sgt Isles returned to work after being on sick leave, and said the inquest would examine the appropriateness of his rehabilitation plan. He said there was evidence the missing policeman had an "intense dislike" for one of his superiors, and considered him responsible for the treatment he'd received from the CMC.

A police uniform, a police swipe card, cash, a shotgun and ammunition were found in the vehicle, but a search of the area failed to find any trace of the father-of-three.

Mr Johns said the inquest would aim to determine whether Sen-Sgt Isles was deceased, and would examine the delay in reporting him missing and the adequacy of the search to find him. A survival expert is also due to give evidence to help State Coroner Michael Barnes make his findings.

The Isles family is not legally represented, but Sen-Sgt Isles' son Steven spoke on their behalf, accusing the police service of being a "boy's club" that had conducted a "deficient" and "biased" investigation into his father's disappearance.

Mr Barnes agreed to conduct the inquest in Brisbane at the family's request, and adjourned the hearing to a date to be fixed.

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Thug traffic police boss keeps his job after exceeding speed limit by 100km/h during an unauthorised chase

Gets a small fine only



A SENIOR traffic officer who drove at more than 100km/h over the speed limit in an unauthorised chase of a speeding motorcyclist in 2009 will hang on to his job as boss of the Pine Rivers traffic branch.

Senior Sergeant Bryan Eaton has escaped a significant sanction after the Crime and Misconduct Commission appealed a police service-imposed penalty as too lenient, and sought his dismissal.

The officer was originally given just a single-pay point deduction for a year by the QPS despite Assistant Commissioner Ross Barnett finding his conduct "endangered the safety of other road users".

"The risks posed by misconduct to yourself and other road users are unacceptable and contrary to the Safe Driving Policy," Mr Barnett found. "Further, the subsequent high speed pursuit of the motorcyclist was unjustified and contrary to the pursuit policy."

The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal heard that on August 22, 2009, Sen-Sgt Eaton pursued a motorcycle at Burpengary at a speed of 225km/h in a 100km/h zone, and between 150 and 160km/h in a 60km/h zone. The chase was considered unauthorised and Sen-Sgt Eaton failed to activate lights and sirens as is the police pursuit policy.

The CMC sought to introduce new evidence to the matter, relating to Sen-Sgt Eaton's involvement in a police chase at Coen in far north Queensland in 2003 which resulted in the deaths of two men. Although a Coronial inquest into the deaths did not recommend charges against Sen-Sgt Eaton, his driving did attract significant criticism from the Coroner.

Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal senior member James Thomas accepted the evidence on a restricted basis, finding a "more severe" sanction needed to be imposed. He ordered a two-pay point reduction over nine months, amounting to a fine of about $1900.

"Chases of this kind put the public at risk and at regular intervals cause extreme distress from collateral damage," Mr Thomas said. "It is important that this policy, designed to enhance relations between the police and the public, be observed, especially by its senior officers."

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Previous post here.

Justice denied on Palm Island

Frank Brennan SJ

ON Monday I was in Townsville, talking to people about the latest saga in the police cover-up of the death of Mulrunji Cameron Doomadgee, the Aboriginal resident of Palm Island who never emerged alive from the police station after Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley fell on him in November 2004.

The Aboriginal community has had to endure three separate coronial inquiries; a decision by the Queensland Director of Public Prosecutions not to prosecute; the reversal of that decision on advice from Laurence Street, who said, "A jury could well find that the only rational inference that can be drawn as to the fatal injury is that it was inflicted by Hurley deliberately kneeing Mulrunji in the upper abdominal area"; the trial of Hurley, who was acquitted, with his barrister telling the jury Hurley was the "instrument of another young man dying and that is a cross he will carry for the rest of his life"; a detailed hearing before the Crime and Misconduct Commission that recommended "consideration be given to commencing disciplinary proceedings for misconduct" against six named police officers; a Supreme Court case denying the Queensland police commissioner the right to conduct the disciplinary proceedings on the grounds of apprehended bias; and now a decision by the deputy police commissioner that there is no need for any disciplinary action against any Queensland police officer.

All is well again in the state of Queensland. Or at least it is back to business as usual in Aboriginal-police relations.

The public is well familiar with the fact the investigating police officers were treated to a barbecue at Hurley's residence on arrival on Palm Island before they began the inquiry into the death caused by Hurley. The barbecue was just the beginning of the chummy police cover-up of their own negligence and dishonesty. Here is one of the CMC's observations about the extraordinary behaviour of Detective Senior Sergeant Raymond Kitching, Detective Inspector Warren Webber and Inspector Mark Williams: Kitching "agreed that he only offered to pathologists information that he considered reliable and relevant".

This seems in stark contradiction to his inclusion on the Form 1 of hearsay evidence about Doomadgee drinking bleach and his exclusion not only of Roy Bramwell's evidence but also of Penny Sibley's allegation of assault (the credibility of which had not been questioned).

In effect, Kitching seems to have informed the pathologist of information adverse to Doomadgee but excluded allegations adverse to Hurley." The pathologist, Guy Lampe, had been told by police that Doomadgee had swallowed bleach (he had not) but not that he had been assaulted (he had). The CMC said the police officers who conducted the internal review of this behaviour "appear to be simply providing reasons to justify Kitching's failure to make this information available to the pathologist, and Webber's and Williams' failure to check the Form 1".

The CMC, chaired by retired Supreme Court judge Martin Moynihan, concluded: "The investigation into the death of Mulrunji was seriously flawed, its integrity gravely compromised in the eyes of the very community it was meant to serve. The way in which the investigation was conducted destroyed the Palm Island community's confidence that there would be an impartial investigation of the death."

Last month, Queensland police deputy commissioner Kathy Rynders published a 410-page report finding that no officers needed be disciplined. She makes these observations about Kitching's Form 1 report: "I consider Kitching's failure to inform Dr Lampe of the assault allegations (whether reliable or not) a significant departure from service requirement and in the circumstance would warrant the commencement of disciplinary action. I note that Kitching included unconfirmed information concerning Mulrunji taking bleach. Similarly, he should have included information of the alleged assault made by Bramwell and Florence Sibley."

However, she says, "I do not consider Kitching's failure to inform Dr Lampe of the assaults constituted misconduct. However, for reasons already outlined and Kitching's acceptance that the allegations of assault should have been brought to the attention of Dr Lampe, it is not my intention to commence disciplinary action, but to provide managerial guidance."

Overall, she agrees with the CMC that there had been "failings in the initial investigation" but concludes that all her boys need is "managerial guidance". She thinks the serious flaws highlighted by the CMC relate only to matters "incidental to the investigation".

In her report, she writes, "The actions of the officers must be viewed objectively, not with the benefit of hindsight."

Addressing the Palm Island community's perception of the police misconduct, she observes, "There continues to be strong feelings amongst many in the community. The danger, however, is that strong feelings tend to cloud sound judgment. "

She concludes: "The evidence simply does not support action for misconduct or official misconduct."

Moynihan describes this decision by Rynders as "almost incomprehensible".

Three years ago, Mike Reynolds, who had been the long-time mayor of Townsville before becoming a government minister and then speaker of the parliament, called for a royal commission into the matter, saying, "This case has become so convoluted and tainted that I now believe truth and justice can only be obtained by a wide-ranging royal commission headed by an eminent jurist."

On Monday Reynolds repeated that call, telling me there was no other way for Queenslanders to put this matter behind them.

After the jury acquitted Hurley in September 2007, Aboriginal leader Gracelyn Smallwood said: "This has not ended the way we wanted it to, but it has been a win on our slow climb up the Everest of justice." On Monday she told me, "People are just so tired and drained. We have lost hope in the Queensland justice system. We've stopped climbing."

The Everest of justice is still well beyond the reach of Queensland Aborigines who happen to get in the way of the Queensland police, who remain a law unto themselves. Three years ago Premier Anna Bligh dismissed out of hand Reynolds's call for a royal commission. She was confident that the legal processes would produce a transparent, just result. We are now at the end of the legal process. The Bligh government needs to listen again to responsible citizens such as Reynolds and Smallwood. There must be a royal commission.

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