Victoria Police Officer Sacked Over Anti-LGBT Comments Says He Won’t Do It Again
Image: Former Victoria Police Sergeant Bruno Staffieri. Image: Facebook
A veteran Victoria Police Officer, who was sacked over his anti-LGBTQI statements, has pleaded for his job back, saying he won’t make such comments again.
Sergeant Bruno Staffieri, 63, a 36-year veteran of the police force, had cited his Catholic “Christian beliefs” to justify his homophobic social media comments.
On Friday, Staffieri attended a Police Registration and Services Board dismissal hearing. Staffieri pleaded for his job back, claiming he was expressing his Christian beliefs and “didn’t mean to offend anyone”, reported The Herald Sun. Staffer said he “won’t do it again”.
A History Of Homophobic Comments
On May 17, 2021, Staffieri took to social media to criticised the Victorian government for reportedly cancelling Australia Day and Anzac Day celebrations (due to COVID-19 restrictions in place at the time) but permitting the Midsumma Pride march in St Kilda (the restrictions had been eased by then).
“So the next time Australians are sent out to fight a war, maybe we can send out the 8000 that marched today….and try to stop the enemy by waving feathers and brightly coloured boas at them,” Staffieri posted.
The same year, he commented on a Victoria Police Linkedin post about Wear in Purple Day.
“I do not bully or tease or harass these people. I just don’t agree with what they do as it disgusts and repulses me … I hate having it shoved in my face,” he commented and asked colleagues not to wear purple clothes to mark the day.
Find Another Job
In 2021, he confronted then Deputy Commissioner Neil Paterson on the police’s internal communication platform Yammer, over Victoria Police participating in the Australian LGBTQ+ inclusion awards. Following heated comments, Paterson suggested Staffieri find another job.
Staffieri continued with his anti-LGBTQI posts, when in March 2022 he shared an ABC report on social media about a teacher who had founded an LGBTQI support group for students at a Sydney school.
“What a disgrace. Bad enough having gay, non-binary teachers, but to have them push their filth on students is a disgraceful crime. Why can’t we sack these teachers?” Staffieri said.
In November 2022, he derided a colleague Bonnie Loft, who works with Gender Equality and Inclusion Command. “So you are doing tertiary education studying genders. I’ll make it easy for you to pass….there are 2.”
