Footage of alleged police gay bashing now missing
A TRIBUNAL hearing a gay Sydney man’s complaint that police officers from Rose Bay deleted footage from their own station’s CCTV system has agreed that over 25 minutes of footage is indeed missing but has not ruled on how it was lost.
Former Rose Bay resident David Rook and his partner John Tanner are at the centre of the continuing case.
In a decision handed down by the Administrative Decisions Tribunal’s senior member Stephen Montgomery in late December 2013, it was decided that Rook was correct in his testimony that the CCTV footage sent to him following a Freedom of Information request by Greens upper house MP David Shoebridge on his behalf was not the same as previously-viewed footage.
“I accepted Mr Rook’s evidence with respect to his observations when he viewed the CCTV footage at Rose Bay Police station on 20 September 2011 and made contemporaneous notes about what he had viewed,” Montgomery said in his findings.
“It is common ground that the Respondent [NSW Police] no longer holds the missing footage. There is no evidence on which I could reasonably conclude how the missing footage was lost. However, it appears that it was no longer available on 12 December 2011.”
Rook now intends to pursue a civil damages suit for what he said was the discriminatory treatment he and Tanner endured from officers of Rose Bay and Waverley police stations in the early hours of June 5, 2011.
The pair alleged that Tanner was viciously beaten by several officers, were mocked for being “fags” and mistreated after Rook was arrested for drink-driving – a charge a magistrate would later throw out for being an unlawful arrest that contravened existing laws forbidding breath tests by police on one’s own home property.
The incident arose after the couple went to Rose Bay police station to report an assault on Tanner by security guards while at the Sydney Opera House earlier in the evening. The couple alleged that police refused to take a statement or offer help. Rook has further alleged he was “set up” on the drink-driving charge partly due to a stammer he has when speaking.
Shoebridge told the Star Observer the public should be rightly concerned that footage from CCTV cameras within police stations were apparently open to manipulation.
“Given the police were unable to explain how this footage was lost, there is an urgent need for further investigation to discover exactly what went wrong and how extensive the problem is,” he said.
“There is clearly a significant question mark over the integrity of the police’s internal CCTV records and this is ultimately not in the interests of the police or the general public.”
However, a police spokesperson told the Star Observer that to suggest the missing footage was deliberately removed would be completely incorrect and not a true reflection of the ADT decision.
“Equally there is no evidence or indication from the Judicial Member that Rose Bay Police altered any reports,” the spokesperson added.
“To suggest otherwise would misrepresent the true judicial position and finding.”
Today, the ADT began hearing the second part of Rook’s case involving apparent edits and manipulation by police of their internal computer log-on system.
Rook and his legal team allege key details were altered or deleted to hide the true movements and whereabouts of a number of officers said to be involved in the incident.
It is likely the case will again go to the NSW Ombudsman which in a December 2012 decision found that neither Rook or Tanner were mistreated but that it would re-investigate the matter should there be “an adverse comment about the NSWPF in the ADT proceedings”.
Rook told the Star Observer that his case was an example as to why an overhaul of the police complaints system was needed.
“Anyone who tries to stand up for themselves will need huge determination, a filing system, a law degree and huge amounts of money, huge amounts of time and at the end of that you are still at best going to get a bitsy result with the police involved getting of scott-free,” he said.
“Why would anyone want to go through all of this?”
Hey Kevin , what’s ur rank in the force and which station do u work at? People are entitled to stand up for themselves and their partner after clear misdeeds by NSW police. NSW police do bash gay people – in fact they kill straight guys too – remember Curti?
Look, I have seen this guy bang on for the last few years about Police, GLLO’s, missing footage, scandals and coverups.
I think it’s a case of an inebriated boob who won’t accept what he has been told, and is now on a mission to make a name for himself as a victim of Police abuse and victimisation.
Its all good to hang sh#t on people from the comfort of your computer, so it’s only fair that someone returned the favour.
David Rook, you obviously have a problem with certain members of the Police, you are gunning for them, by harping on about things that haven’t happened, or not happened as you said they did, and obviously don’t care who you. You have written and allowed to be written the most horrible and vicious things about Tony Crandell and Rose Bay Police, because they had the temerity not to support your allegations, which has led you on some sort of crusade.
You have not got your own way with exacting some form of recognition/apology, whatever it is that you are after, so you are dumping on all of the Police, which is sad because my experience with the Police, and thankfully, it has only been twice, has been nothing by a positive and helpful experience.
David, lay off the turps, move away from the keyboard stop whinging and grow a set!!
If you can’t trust police, then who can you trust?
I note these guys went to police for help, and what did they do, they set them up for an easy and illegal arrest. Well gee, that sounds like good police work. And then they edit police CCTV to try to hide their misdeeds.
I wonder how much tax payer money this mess consumed?
Barry needs to ‘do something’ here. A truly independent investigative body to investigate NSW Police is the first step.
Looks like yet another sordid grubby tale to add to the story book of stench that is NSW Police these days. I have seen first hand their arrogance and their ‘us and them’ attitude. NSW Police seem to live in an alternate universe, totally divorced from reality. Most of them seem to be high school drop outs with criminal records. Who would want to be a police officer these days? Something major needs to be done to reform and clean up NSW Police, the alarm bells are ringing loud and clear. Having lost their reputation, and with nobody trusting them anymore, I don’t see how NSW Police can be in any way effective.
Well done to the Sydney Star Observer for bringing this latest update to everyone’s attention. And well done to Greens MP David Shoebridge for assisting with the case we ran in the ADT. The ADT is restricted in its scope and so whilst it was proven footage was missing, because NSW Police had conveniently destroyed the chain of evidence leading back to the original CCTV hard drive, we were unable to prove the now missing footage were deliberate edits. Also the fact that the missing footage happens at key moments in the CCTV – each gap with a deliberate purpose – again that was outside the ADT’s scope. The ADT ruled that yes footage is missing – but it was missing after Greens MP David Shoebridge put in his GIPA – so not a win for NSW Police at all. In dealing with NSW Police – I have been amazed at their total inability to be honest or come clean re any of this – for them honesty has nothing to do with this. They hide behind their top tax payer funded lawyers and they will never come clean. No wonder nobody trusts them anymore.