Commissioner of Police v Scanes

[1983] AFPDT 2

IN THE FEDERAL P O L I C E

DISCIPLINARY T R I B U X X L

THE COMMISSIONER OFiPOLICE

a g a i n s t

SERGE,LUT WARREN	D A V I D SCA&VES
IN THE )LATTER

( .Aus t ra l i an Fe

THE P R E S I D E N T (KELLY J )

9 DECEMBER 1983

CANBERRA. A . C . T .

THE T R I B U N A L FINDS THAT: -

1. S e r g e a n t Warren David SCAttES i s g u i l t y o f t h e d i s c i p l i n a r y

o f f e n c e a l l e g e d i n Charge No. .AFP:31/8283, n a m e l y : -

T h a t he was g u i l t y o f i m p r o p e r c o n d u c t i n his

o f f i c i a l c a p a c i t y , c o n t r a r y t o t h e p r o v i s i o n s

o f p a r a g r a p h 13C1) (d) o f t h e A u s t r a l i a n F e d e r a l

P o l i c e ( D i s c i p l i n e ) R e g u l a t i o n s , i n t h a t on o r

a b o u t 16 J u l y 1 9 8 2 , on t h e w e s t e r n s i d e o f

Commonwealth Avenue 5 e t x e e n t h e X l b e r t H a l l and

Commonwealth Avenue B r i d g e , C a n b e r r a i n t h e

A u s t r a l i a n C a p i t a l T e r r i t o r y , he d i d s e i z e

D a n i l o U B E R and p u l l him o u t o f his moto r

v e h i c l e and t h e n d i d s t r i k e him a b o u t t h e h e a d

w i t h h i s hand .

2 . S e r g e a n t Y a r r e n 9avi.d SCXNES i s n o t g u i l t y o f t h e d i s c i p l i n a r y

o f f e n c e a l l e g e d i n Charge No. .UP: 5 2 / 8 2 3 3 , n a m e l y : - .

T h a t he was g u i l t y o f i m p r o p e r c o n d u c t i n h i s

o f f i c i a l capacl::j, cDn:r?rlr t o t he ?revisions

o f p a r a g r a p h 1 3 Ii:' 3 - t h e .4us t r a l i a n F e d e r a l

P o l i c e ( D i s c i p l i n e ) R e g u l a t i o n s , i n t h a t on o r

about 16 J u l y -1982, i n t h e v i c i n i t y o f A l b e r t

S t r e e t and B a r r i n e Drive i n Acton Pa rk , Canberra

i n t he A u s t r a l i a n C a p i t a l T e r r i t o r y , he d i d s t r i k e

Danilo RABER about t he f a c e w i t h h i s hand.

3 . S e r g e a n t Warren David SCANES i s g u i l t y o f t h e d i s c i p l i n a r y

o f f e n c e a l l e g e d i n Charge No. AFP:53/8283, namely:-

That he was c a r e l e s s i n t h e d i s c h a r g e of h i s

d u t i e s c o n t r a r y t o t h e p r o v i s i o n s of pa rag raph

18 [l) ( U i s c i p l i n e ) [c) of t h e A u s t r a l i a n Fede ra l P o l i c e

Regulations, i n t h a t on o r about

1 6 July 1 9 8 2 , hav ing r e q u i r e d Uanl lo RABER t o

produce f o r inspection h l s l l c e n c e t o d r i v e a

motor v e h i c l e and the s a i d u a n i l o KABLR hav ing

s o produced n i s l i c e n c e , he f a i l e d t o ensu re

t h a t t h e s a i d l i c e n c e was r e t u r n e d t o him.

IN THE FEDERAL POLICE 1

No. 8 of 1983

D 1 SCIPLINARY	T R I B U N A L	j
THE COMMISSIONER OF P O L I C E

a g a i n s t

CZNSTABLE KELVIN GEORGE THORN

2; 'TKE MATTER of t h e Complaints

- i u s t r a l i a n Fede ra l P o l i c e ) Act 1981

. .

THE PRESIDENT (KELLY J]

9 DECEMBER 1983

CANBERRA, A. C . T .

I

THE T R I B U N A L FINDS THAT : - I

1. Constable Kelvin George Thorn is n o t g u i l t y of t he d i s c i p l i n a r y l

of fence	a l l e g e d i n Charze No.	AFP:54/8283,	namely:-	I
l

That he was g u i l t ; i )I improper conduct i n h i s o f f - i c i a l

c a p a c i t y , c o n t r a r y :o t h e p r o v i s i o n s o f pa rag raph i

18 [ l ) Cd) of t he Aus z r a l i a n Fede ra l P o l i c e ( D i s c i p l i n e )

R e g u l a t i o n s , i n t h a t on o r about 16 J u l y 1982, on the

wes t e rn s i d e of Commonwealth Avenue between the A l b e r t l

H a l l and Commonwealth Avenue Br idge , Canberra i n t he

A u s t r a l i a n

C a p i t a l T e r r i t o r y , be d i d s t r i k e Dani lo RABER l

about t he head w i t h his hand.

2 . Constable Kelvin George Th.orn i s n o t g u i l t y of t h e d i s c i p l i n a r y 1

o f f e n c e a l l e g e d in Charge No. AFP :55/8283, namely: -

That he was g u i l t y of improper conduct i n h i s

o f f i c i a l c a p a c i t y , c o n t r a r y t o t he p r o v i s i o n s of

pa rag raph 18(1) (d) of the A u s t r a l i a n Fede ra l P o l i c e

( D i s c i p l i n e ) R e g u l a t i o n s , i n t h a t on o r about 1 6 J u l y

1 9 8 2 , i n the v i c i n i t y o f A l b e r t S t r e e t and B a r r i n e

Drive i n Acton Pa rk , Canberra i n the A u s t r a l i a n

C a p i t a l T e r r i t o r y , he d i d s t r i k e Dani lo FQABER about

t h e f a c e w i t h h i s hand.

3. Cons tab le Kelvin George Thorn i s g u i l t y of ;he d i s c i p l i n a r y

o f f ence a l l e g e d i n Charge No. AFP:56/8283 t o t h e e x t e n t

h e r e i n a f t e r i n d i c a t e d , namely: -

' l 'hat he was g u i l t y o f improper conduct i n h i s

o f f i c i a l c a p a c i t y , c o n t r a r y t o t h e p r o v i s i o n s

o f pa rag raph 1 8 ~ 1 ) (d) of t h e A u s t r a l l a n F e d e r a l

P o l i c e ( D l s c i p l i n e ) Kegu la t ions , I n t h a t on o r

about 16 J u l y 1982, on the wes t e rn s i d e o f

Commonwealth Avenue between t h e A l b e r t H a l l and

Commonwealth Avenue Br idge , Canberra i n the

A u s t r a l i a n C a p i t a l T e r r i t o r y , he d i d remove

2 f l a g o n s from a v e h i c l e owned b y Dani lo RABER

and then d l d break one of t he s a i d f l a g o n s .

l	1
1

4 . Cons tab le Kelvin George Thorn i s n o t g u i l t y of t he d i s c i p l i n a r y

6 o f f e n c e a l l e g e d I n Charge No. AFP:57/8283, namely:- 1

l h a t he was c a r e l e s s i n t he d i s c h a r g e o f h i s , l I

d u t i e s c o n t r a r y t o t h e p r o v i s i o n s o f pa rag raph

1 8 ~ 1 ) ( c ) o f t he A u s t r a l i a n F e d e r a l P o l i c e

( u i s c i p l i n e ) R e g u l a t i o n s , i n t h a t on o r about

1 6 J u l y 1982, a t Lanberra i n t he A u s t r a l i a n C a p i t a l 1

Territory, Dani lo RABER hav ing been r e q u i r e d by

Act ing Se rgean t Warren David SCANES t o produce

f o r i n s p e c t i o n h i s l i c e n c e t o d r i v e a motor v e h i c l e

and hav ing so produced h i s l i c e n c e t o t he s a i d

Act ing Se rgean t Warren David SCANES, and t h e s a i d

l i c e n c e having then been handed t o Cons tab le Thorn

f o r t h e purpose of r e c o r d i n g p a r t i c u l a r s and a f t e r !

hav ing s o r eco rded the p a r t i c u l a r s , he f a i l e d t o

r e t u r n the s a i d l i c e n c e t o Act ing S e r g e a n t Warren

David SCANES o r t o Danilo RABER.	1
I

C, 5 . Cons tab le Kelv in George Thorn i s g u i l t y of t he d i s c i p l i n a r y

o f f e n c e a l l e g e d i n Charge No. AFP:58/8283, namely:-

That he was g u i l t y of improper conduct i n h i s

o f f i c i a l c a p a c i t y , c o n t r a r y t o t h e p r o v i s i o n s

o f paragraph 1 8 C 1 ) (d) of t h e A u s t r a l i a n Fede ra l

P o l i c e ( D i s c i p l i n e ) Regulations, i n t h a t on o r

about 1 6 J u l y 1982, on the wes te rn s i d e of

Commonwealth Avenue between the A l b e r t H a l l and

Commonwealth Avenue Br idge , Canberra i n t he

A u s t r a l l a n C a p l t a l T e r r i t o r y , he d i d t e a r two

pages from a pocke t d i a r y owned by Uanilo KABEK.

I N THE	FEDERAL	P O L I C E	1
) NOS. 7 and 8 of 1 9 8 3

D I S C I P L I N A R Y TRIBUNAL )

THE COMMISSIONER O F P O L I C E

against

SERGEANT WARREN DAVID SCANES

THE COMMISSIONER O F P O L I C E

against

CONSTABLE K E L V I N GEORGE THORN

I N THE MATTER of the Complaints

(Australian Federal Police) Act. 1 9 8 1

REASONS F O R D E C I S I O N KELLY J

9 DECEMBER 1983

By n o t i c e s d a t e d 27 A p r i l 1983 t h e Commiss ioner o f

t h e A u s t r a l i a n F e d e r a l P o l i c e i n s t i t u t e d p r o c e e d i n g s a g a i n s t

S e r g e a n t Warren David S c a n e s ( S e r g e a n t S c a n e s ) and C o n s t a b l e

~ e l v i n George Thorn ( C o n s t a b l e T h o r n ) i n r e s p e c t o f a number

o f a l l e g e d d i s c i p l i n a r y o f f e n c e s s a i d t o have i n v o l v e d o n e

D a n i l o Rabe r . S e r g e a n t S c a n e s was c h a r g e d w i t h t h r e e

o f f e n c e s and C o n s t a b l e Thorn w i t h f i v e .

I n s u b s t a n c e t h e a l l e g a t i o n s a g a i n s t S e r g e a n t

C S c a n e s were:-

( a ) t h a t h e was c a r e l e s s i n t h e d i s c h a r g e o f h i s d u t i e s

l l	c o n t r a r y	t o t h e p r o v i s i o n s	of	p a r a g r a p h	1 8 ( 1 ) ( c ) of	t h e
l

A u s t r a l i a n F e d e r a l P o l i c e ( D i s c i p l i n e ) R e g u l a t i o n s ( t h e

" R e g u l a t i o n s " ) i n t h a t on o r a b o u t 16 J u l y 1982 h e ,

1 h a v i n g r e q u i r e d and c a u s e d D a n i l o Raber t o p r o d u c e h i s

d r i v e r ' s l i c e n c e f o r i n s p e c t i o n , f a i l e d t o e n s u r e t h a t

i t was r e t u r n e d ( A u s t r a l i a n F e d e r a l P o l i c e Cha rge N o .

A.F.P. 53 /8283) and

L1 ( b ) t h a t h e was g u i l t y o f i m p r o p e r c o n d u c t i n h i s o f f i c i a l

c a p a c i t y , c o n t r a r y , t o t h e p r o v i s i o n s of p a r a g r a p h

1 8 ( l ) ( d ) o f	t h e	R e g u l a t i o n s ,	i n	t h a t	on	o r	a b o u t	1 6
J u l y 1982 h e

( i ) on t h e w e s t e r n s i d e o f Commonwealth Avenue be tween

t h e A l b e r t I l a l l and Commonwealth Avenue B r i d g e ,

C a n b e r r a s e i z e d D a n i l o Rabe r , p u l l e d h i m o u t o f h i s

motor v e h i c l e and t h e n s t r u c k h i m a b o u t t h e h e a d

w i t h h i s hand ( ~ u s t r a l i a n F e d e r a l P o l i c e C h a r g e

N o . A.F.P. 51/82832;

( i i ) i n t h e v i c i n i t y o f A l b e r t S t r e e t and B a r r i n e ~ r i v e

i n Acton P a r k , C a n b e r r a s t r u c k D a n i l o R a b e r a b o u t

t h e f a c e w i t h h i s hand ( A u s t r a l i a n F e d e r a l P o l i c e

C h a r g e N o . A.F.P. 5 2 / 8 2 8 3 ) .

I n s u b s t a n c e t h e a l l e g a t i o n s a g a i n s t C o n s t a b l e

Thorn	were:-
(a)	t h a t he was c a r e l e s s i n t h e d i s c h a r g e o f h i s d u t i e s

c o n t r a r y t o t h e p r o v i s i o n s o f p a r a g r a p h 1 8 ( l ) ( c ) o f t h e

R e g u l a t i o n s i n t h a t on or a b o u t 16 J u l y 1982 h e , h a v i n g

had handed t o him by a c t i n g S e r g e a n t S c a n e s D a n i l o

R a b e r ' s d r i v e r ' s l i c e n c e ( w h i c h t h e l a t t e r had b e e n

r e q u i r e d by S e r g e a n t S c a n e s t o p r o d u c e ) so t h a t h e

m i g h t r e c o r d p a r t i c u l a r s t h e r e o f f a i l e d , h a v i n g

r e c o r d e d t h e p a r t i c u l a r s , t o r e t u r n t h e l i c e n c e t o

a c t i n g S e r g e a n t S c a n e s or t o D a n i l o Raber ( A u s t r a l i a n

F e d e r a l P o l i c e Cha rge N o . A.F.P. 5 7 / 8 2 8 3 ) , and

( b ) t h a t h e was g u i l t y o f i m p r o p e r c o n d u c t i n h i s o f f i c i a l

c a p a c i t y c o n t r a r y t o t h e p r o v i s i o n s o f p a r a g r a p h

-

1 8 ( l ) ( d ) o f t h e ~ e g u l a t i o n s , i n t h a t on o r a b o u t 16

J u l y 1982 h e

( i ) on t h e w e s t e r n s i d e o f Commonwealth Avenue be tween

t h e A l b e r t H a l l and Commonwealth -Avenue ridge,

C a n b e r r a s t r u c k D a n i l o Rabe r a b o u t t h e h e a d w i t h

h i s hand ( A u s t r a l i a n F e d e r a l P o l i c e Cha rge N o .

A.F.P. 5 4 / 8 2 8 3 ) ;

( i i ) i n t h e v i c i n i t y o f A l b e r t S t r e e t and. B a r r i n e D r i v e

i n Acton P a r k , C a n b e r r a s t r u c k D a n i l o R a b e r a b o u t

t h e f a c e w i t h h i s hand ( A u s t r a l i a n F e d e r a l P o l i c e

Charge N o . A.F.P. 5 5 / 8 2 8 3 ) ;

-

--

-- ---F.

..-p	_ -----	7-
l l l

( i i i ) o n t h e w e s t e r n s i d e o f Commonwealth Avenue between

t h e A l b e r t H a l l and Commonwealth Avenue b r idge ,

Canber ra removed two f l a g o n s from a v e h i c l e owned

by D a n i l o ( ~ u s t r a l i a n F e d e r a l Raber and t h e n b roke t h e f l a g o n s

P o l i c e Charge N o . A . F .P.

56/8283) and

( i v ) on t h e w e s t e r n s i d e of Commonwealth Avenue between

t h e ~ l b e r t H a l l and Commonwealth Avenue B r i d g e ,

C a n b e r r a i n t h e A u s t r a l i a n C a p i t a l T e r r i t o r y t o r e

t w o p a g e s from a p o c k e t d i a r y owned by D a n i l o

Raber	( A u s t r a l i a n	F e d e r a l	P o l i c e	Charge	N o .
A.F.P.	58/8283) ,

Through h i s s o l i c i t o r s each o f t h e o f f i c e r s

p r o m p t l y d e n i e d a l l t h e c h a r g e s a g a i n s t him,

The r e l e v a n t p a r t o f R e g u l a t i o n 78 o f t h e

R e g u l a t i o n s p r o v i d e s : - " 1 8 . ( 1 ) A member i s g u i l t y o f a

d i s c i p l i n a r y o f f e n c e and is s u b j e c t t o

punishment i n accordance w i t h t h e s e

R e g u l a t i o n s i f t h e member -

( c ) is n e g l i g e n t o r c a r e l e s s i n t h e

d i s c h a r g e o f h i s d u t i e s ;

( d ) is g u i l t y o f d i s g r a c e f u l o r

improper c o n d u c t , e i t h e r i n h i s

o f f i c i a l c a p a c i t y or o t h e r w i s e ;

( 2 ) A member who a i d s , a b e t s , c o u n s e l s ,

p r o c u r e s , o r by a c t o r omiss ion is

d i r e c t l y o r i n d i r e c t l y knowingly

concerned i n , o r p a r t y t o , t h e

- commission of any d i s c i p l i n a r y o f f e n c e

s h a l l be deemed t o be g u i l t y o f t h a t

d i s c i p l i n a r y	o f f e n c e	and	is	p u n i s h a b l e
a c c o r d i n g l y . "

The t w o s e t s o f c h a r g e s were h e a r d t o g e t h e r . A t

I t h e o u t s e t , N r . H i g g i n s f o r t h e two o f f i c e r s m a i n t a i n g d o n

t h e i r b e h a l f t h e i r d e n i a l o f t h e c h a r g e s and a l s o made a

l

f o r m a l o b j e c t i o n t o t h i s T r i b u n a l ' s h e a r i n g t h e c h a r g e s i n

l

r e l a t i o n t o c o n d u c t which would a l s o c o n s t i t u t e a c r i m i n a l

o f f e n c e . H e r e f e r r e d i n p a r t i c u l a r t o A u s t r a l i a n F e d e r a l

P p l i c e C h a r g e s Nos. A.F.P. 51/8283 and 52/8283 l a i d a g a i n s t

S e r g e a n t S c a n e s and Nos. A.F.P. 54 /8283 , 55/8283 a n d 56/8283

a g a i n s t C o n s t a b l e T h o r n . I o v e r r u l e d t h e o b j e c t i o n .

l r\

1	I n a	j udgmen t	handed	down on	19 A u g u s t	1983 and as
l	l

I	y e t ,	so	f a r	a s	I	know,	u n r e p o r t e d ,	t h e	F e d e r a l	C o u r t	of
i

A u s t r a l i a , Neaves J , h e l d t h a t t h e e x p r e s s i o n " d i s g r a c e f u l

l

or i m p r o p e r c o n d u c t " i n R e g u l a t i o n 1 8 ( l ) ( d ) o f t h e

I

I	R e g u l a t i o n s	i n c l u d e s c o n d u c t	w h i c h ,	w h i l e	a n s w e r i n g	t h e
l	l

d e s c r i p t i o n o f d i s g r a c e f u l o r i m p r o p e r c o n d u c t , a l so amoun t s

t o a b r e a c h ~ u s t r a l i a n F e d e r a l o f t h e c r i m i n a l l aw . A l l a n v . Commiss ione r o f

P o l i c e . I c o n s i d e r m y s e l f bound t o

f o l l o w t h a t d e c i s i o n .

C, A p p r o p r i a t e c e r t i f i c a t e s g i v e n u n d e r t h e

-

p r o v i s i o n s o f S . 68 (1 ) o f ' t h e A u s t r a l i a n F e d e r a l P o l i c e A c t

1979 e s t a b l i s h e d t h a t o n 16 J u l y 1982 S e r g e a n t S c a n e s h e l d

t h e r a n k o f S e n i o r C o n s t a b l e and p r e s e n t l y h o l d s t h e r a n k o f

S e r g e a n t w h i l e C o n s t a b l e Thorn h e l d on t h a t d a t e and s t i l l

h o l d s t h e r a n k o f C o n s t a b l e i n t h e A u s t r a l i a n F e d e r a l

P o l i c e . On 16 J u l y 1982 S e r g e a n t S c a n e s h e l d t h e a c t i n g

r a n k of S e r g e a n t .

A t 2 . 4 8 - a.m. on 16 J u l y 1 9 8 2 , a t a x i d r i v e r

a d v i s e d t h e p o l i c e a t C a n b e r r a p o l i c e S t a t i o n t h a t a V a l i a n t

C h a r g e r c a r was p a r k e d i n Commonwealth Avenue, P a r k e s , and

had been s o p a r k e d f o r a p p r o x i m a t e l y one h o u r w i t h t h e

e n g i n e r u n n i n g . T h e r e was o n e p e r s o n i n t h e v e h i c l e . The

p r e c i s e l o c a t i o n of t h e v e h i c l e , a c c o r d i n g t o t h e message

f o r m t e n d e r e d i n e v i d e n c e and marked E x h i b i t 0 , was t h e

medium	( s i c )	s t r i p	o p p o s i t e	t h e	A l b e r t	~a l1 /Commonwea l th
Avenue.

A . t y p e d t r a n s c r i p t o f a t a p e which r e c o r d e d

wireless t r a f f i c be tween p o l i c e H e a d q u a r t e r s C a n b e r r a

( H e a d q u a r t e r s ) and m o b i l e p a t r o l s was t e n d e r e d i n e v i d e n c e

a n d w i t h c a s s e t t e s u sed t o r e c o r d t h e r e l e v a n t m a t e r i a l f rom

t h e t a p e c o o r d i n a t e d - w i t h became E x h i b i t N . Such t a p e s when i n u s e a r e

t i m e s i g n a l s s o t h a t , b a r r i n g a c c i d e n t s ,

t h e t i m e o f a p a r t i c u l a r t r a n s m i s s i o n may be r e c o r d e d

s i m u l t a n e o u s l y w i t h its making and w i t h g r e a t a c c u r a c y ,

i n t e r v a l s o f 10 , s econds b e i n g shown.

T h e t r a n s c r i p t shows t h a t be tween 2.48 and

2.49 S e r g e a n t S c a n e s , who was t h e n a' member o f t h e t w o man

crew o f a p o l i c e p a t r o l c a r which had t h e w i r e l e s s c a l l s i g n

"Hotel 8 " ( I w i l l c a l l i t " H o t s 1 8 " ) , a d v i s e d H e a d q u a r t e r s

t h a t a p a r t i c u l a r t a s k upon which h e had been engaged w a s

c o m p l e t e . Thereupon h e was t o l d o f t h e V a l i a n t C h a r g e r i n

words which r e f l e c t e d f a i t h f u l l y t h e message which had been

r e c e i v e d f rom t h e t a x i d r i v e r and a s k e d t o l o o k i n t o t h e

m a t t e r . About a m i n u t e l a t e r , a s t h e t r a n s c r i p t r e c o r d s ,

o n e or o t h e r o f S e n i o r C o n s t a b l e Crampton and C o n s t a b l e

C a n t l e , t h e crew of a n o t h e r p o l i c e p a t r o l c a r which had t h e

wireless c a l l s i g n " 2 o t e l 1 4 " ( I w i l l c a l l i t " H o t e l 1 4 " )

a d v i s e d t h e i r a v a i l a b i l i t y f o r t h e i r n e x t a s s i g n m e n t .

S e r g e a n t S c 9 n e s t L s n s p o k e t o E e a d q u a r t e r s and s a i d ,

-

--

----

--

l

--P--- 7-	1
"You m i g h t g e t t h a t c a r t o c h e c k t h a t
o u t , w i l l you; we're r i g h t down i n
C a n b e r r a Avenue.
By t h i s h e mean t , a s may b e g a t h e r e d f rom a n

u n d a t e d s t a t e m e n t which he made o n , I f i n d , 1 1 Augus t 1980

( E x h i b i t K ) , t h a t Hotel 8 was n e a r H.M.A.S. Harman, some

m i l e s away.

W i t h i n a b o u t t h r e e m i n u t e s , a t a b o u t 2 . 5 4 * a.m.,

C o n s t a b l e s Crampton and C a n t l e had a l i g h t e d , as E x h i b i t N

shows, f rom H o t e l 14 n e a r t h e A l b e r t H a l l . C o n s t a b l e

C Crampton g a v e e v i d e n c e t h a t on a r r i v a l a t t h e l o c a t i o n he

saw a w h i t e m o t o r v e h i c l e f a c i n g n o r t h . I ts e n g i n e w a s .

s t i l l r u n n i n g . H e app roached t h e v e h i c l e and saw a man i n

t h e d r i v e r ' s s e a t . H e g e s t u r e d t o him t o wind h i s window

down.	H e	d i d	s o	and	C o n s k a b l e	Crampton	had	a	s h o r t	1
,

c o n v e r s a t i o n w i t h him. The man was D a n i l o Raber . C o n s t a b l e l

Crampton had d i f f i c u l t y communica t ing w i t h him' and s a i d a s

much t o C o n s t a b l e C a n t l e . When M r . Rabe r f i r s t wound down

1

t h e window, C o n s t a b l e Crampton d e t e c t e d a s t r o n g smell of

.

a l c o h o l on h i s b r e a t h and i n s i d e t h e c a r . H e t h o u g h t t h e

smell w a s o f w i n e . H e formed t h e o p i n i o n t h a t M r . Rabe r was

w e l l u n d e r t h e i n f l u e n c e o f a l c o h o l . H e had n o t d e t e c t e d

any s m e l l was wound down. o f a l c o h o l o u t s i d e t h e v e h i c l e b e f o r e t h e window

S h o r t l y a f t e r h i s c o n v e r s a t i o n w i t h C o n s t a b l e

C a n t l e h e t u r n e d t o w a r d s Commonwealth Avenue and saw H o t e l 8

p u l l up n e a r t h e k e r b . S e r g e a n t S c a n e s a sked him what t h e

t r o u b l e w a s . He r e p l i e d t h a t t h e man s i t t i n g i n t h e v e h i c l e

was n o t a n s w e r i n g h i s d i r e c t i o n s o r t h e q u e s t i o n s h e had p u t

t o him. S e r g e a n t S c a n e s o r d e r e d him t o r e s u n e p a t r o l l i n g

M

--

---

--

-- r-

and some s e c o n d s b e f o r e 3 . 0 2 a.m. he a d v i s e d H e a d q u a r t e r s

t h a t Hotel 1 4 was a g a i n m o b i l e , t h e j o b a t Commonwealth

Avenue h a v i n g been c o m p l e t e d .

. H e g a v e e v i d e n c e t h a t when Hotel 8 a r r i v e d a t t h e

s c e n e , M r . Rabe r t u r n e d o f f t h e e n g i n e o f h i s v e h i c l e . By

t h a t t i m e h e had b e e n i n M r . ~ a b e r ' s p r e s e n c e f o r some f o u r

o r f i v e m i n u t e s . The e v i d e n c e j u s t r e f e r r e d t o - a c c o r d s

p r e t t y w e l l w i t h t h e t i m i n g s shown i n E x h i b i t N . SQhen h e

l e f t t h e a r e a Hotel 8 was s t i l l p a r k e d where i t had p u l l e d

C1 up , some s i x metres b e h i n d M r . R a b e r ' s v e h i c l e .

When h e s p o k e t o M r . R a b e r h e saw h i s f a c e b u t

I t h e r e were no i n j u r i e s on it and no b l o o d a r o u n d h i s mouth

o r e y e s . N o r d i d h e see any g l a s s , p a r t i c u l a r l y g l a s s f rom

a b r o k e n f l a g o n , l y i n g n e a r a t r e e n e a r M r . R z b e r ' s c a r . H e

1 d i d n o t t o u c h M r . Rabe r a t a l l and a l t h o u g h h e a s k e d him t o

p r o d u c e h i s d r i v e r ' s l i c e n c e , M r . Rabe r d i d n o t .

I n c r o s s - e x a m i n a t i o n h e s t a t e d t h a t when h e f i r s t

a r r i v e d a t t h e s c e n e M r . Rabe r a p p e a r e d t o b e a s l e e p . H e

6 had n o t s e a r c h e d t h e v e h i c l e . The l i g h t s we.re n o t o n i n t h e

v e h i c l e and t h e r e was n6 d i r e c t s f r e e t l ' i g h t i n g o n t o M r .

Rabe r ' S f a c e . H e a g r e e d t h a t t h e l i g h t i n g i n t h e

p a r t i c u l a r a r e a where M r . Raber was p a r k e d was dim a t t h e

t i m e . He f i x e d C o n s t a b l e C a n t l e ' s p o s i t i o n when h e f i r s t

a p p r o a c h e d t h e v e h i c l e a s some t w o m e t r e s b e h i n d him t o t h e

r i g h t o f t h e v e h i c l e .

C o n s t a b l e C a n t l e g a v e e v i d e n c e which a c c o r d e d w i t h

t h a t o f C o n s t a b l e Crampton. Asked w h e t h e r s h e n o t i c e d

a n y t h i n g a b o u t Mr. Raber s h e s a i d t h a t he was European and

a p p e a r e d t o be a s m a l l man. She c o u l d smell t h e filmes o f

a l c o h o l when t h e window was wound down. sne n ~ ? ~ r e r got

closer t h a n w i t h i n f i v e f ee t of M r . R a b e r . S h e s a w no b l o o d

o r a n y s i g n s of i n j u r y o n M r . R a b e r ' s f a c e n o r d i d s h e see

h i m h o l d i n g a h a n d k e r c h i s f t o h i s f a c e . S h e t h o u g h t h i m t o

h a v e b e e n u n d e r t h e i n f l u e n c e o f a l c o h o l . B e f o r e t h e window

was wound i n t h e v i c i n i t y of down s h e n o t i c e d n o smel l of i n t o x i c a t i n g l i q u o r

t h e v e h i c l e . S h e d i d n o t t o u c h M r . R a b e r

a t a l l a n d d i d n o t se? h i m p r o d u c e h i s l i c e n c e t o C o n s t a b l e

C r a m p t o n .

C A t t h e c o m p l e t i o n o f h i s s h i f t C o n s t a b l e C r a m p t o n

c o m p l e t e d a m e s s a g e s h e e t c o n c ~ r n i n g t h e i n c i d e n t . I t is

a p p a r e n t t h a t some o f t h e a e s s a g e s h e e t w a s c o m p l e t e d by a

p e r s o n o r p e r s o n s o t h e r t h a n C o n s t a b l e C r a m p t o n . T h a t p a r t

o f t h e m e s s a g e s h e e t r e a d s a s f o l l o w s : -

" INDEX DETAILS : NAME ( S J : AERIAL

SUSUXB: PARXES TYPE: MISC NON CRIME

MSGS NO 1 2 3 8 TIME I N 0 2 4 8 TINE OUT 0 2 5 0

PATROL H 1 4 CRAMPTON CANTLE

COMPLAINANT: AERIAL

MSGS TEXT: VALIAXT WITH MOTOR RUNNING" MEDIUM STRIP OPPOSITE -ALBERT E-IALL

A t t h e c o n c l u s i o n o f h i s s h i f t C o n s t a b l e C r a m p t o n

t y p e d	t h e	f o l l o w i n g :-
l 1 A t t e n d ? d a n d s p o k e t o D r i v e r o f a w h i t e
V a l i a n t C h a r g e r p a r k e d o n medium s t r i p .
A f t e r a s h o r t c o n v e r s a t i o n F1 8
S u p e r v i s o r y S g t . S c a n e s a r r i v e d a n d H14
d e p a r t e d t h e a rea . N.F.P.A."

T h e a b b r e v i a t i o n j u s t u s e d is f o r t h e w o r d s "No F u r t h e r

? o l i c e A c t i o n " . T h e r e f o l l o w s i n d i f f e r e n t t y p e f a c e t h e

w o r d s " M a l e p e r s o n l e f t t h e a r e a o n f o o t u p o n l o l i c e

r e q u e s t . " , a s e n t e n c e which was l a t e r t y p e d b y S e r g e a n t

S c a n e s f o l l o w i n g a r e q u e s t by a s u p e r v i s i n g s e r g e a n t t h a t he

s h o u l d c o m p l e t e t h e r e p o r t .

M r . Rocco P e l l e , a s t o r e k e e p e r , g a v e e v i d e n c e t h a t

a t a b o u t l u n c h t i n e on 15 J u l y 1982 Mr. Rabe r b o u g h t some

g r o c e r i e s and t w o f l a g o n s o f K a i s e r S t u h l c l a r e t . He had

known M r . R a b e r f o r a b o u t t h r e e y e a r s . When he s e r v e d him

on t h a t d a y h e l o o k e d a t h i s f a c e b u t s a w no i n j u r i e s on

i t . H e a g r e e d t h a t h e had n o t p a i d p a r t i c u l a r a t t e n t i o n t o

M r . R a b e r ' s f a c e n o r examined i t m i n u t e l y . Shown a

p h o t o g r a p h o f M r . Rabe r which showed b r u i s i n g on t h e u p p e r

l

l i d o f t h e r i g h t e y e , b r u i s i n g which h e r e a d i l y d e t e c t e d i n

t h e p h o t o g r a p h ( N o . 1 o f E x h i b i t C ) , h e s t a t e d t h a t he had

n o t s e e n t h a t b r u i s i n g when h e saw M r . R a b e r on 15 J u l y

l 1982. H e s a i d i t was n o t t h e r e t h e n . H e i d e n t i f i e d a l a b e l

a t t a c h e d t o some g l a s s which became E x h i b i t D a s a p p e a r i n g

t o be t h e same a s t h a t on one o f t h e f l a g o n s which h e had

s o l d M r . R a b e r .

f

M r . Rabe r g a v e e v i d e n c e t h a t on 15 J u l y 1982 he

- L

p u r c h a s e d t w o f l a g o n s o f , c l a r e t , some c h e e s e and m o r t a d e l l a

f rom N r . P e l l e . H e p u t t h e f l a g o n s i n h i s car . H e f i n i s h e d

work a t a b o u t 4 . 3 0 p.m. and t h e n went t o t h e I t a l i a n C lub

where he h a d , he s a i d , t w o o r t h r e e b e e r s and p l a y e d a p o k e r

mach ine . H e did n o t know what t i m e h e f i n i s h e d b u t t h o u g h t

i t was a b o u t 9 o ' c l o c k when he l e f t t h e I t a l i a n C l u b t o g o

home. L e a v i n g t h e C l u b h e made h i s way t o N a t i o n a l C i r c u i t ,

t u r n e d l e f t i n t o C a n b e r r a Avenue, r i g h t i n t o S t a t e C i rc le and so i n t o Commonwealth Avenue t o a p o i n t on t h e l e f t hand

[western] s i d e of t h a i avenue n o r t h beyond the A l b e r t H a i l .

H e c o n f i r m e d i n e v i d e n c e - t h a t h e had shown t h e r o u t e h e h a d

t r a v e l l e d t o s e r g e a n t McGuff icke . S e r g e a n t ~ I c G u f f i c k e g a v e

e v i d e n c e o f t h e names o f t h e s t r e e t s - which h e had

t r a v e r s e d . Mr. R a b e r ' s e v i d e n c e on t h i s was c l 2 a r enough i f ,

o n e knows t h e - d i s t r i c t b u t l a c k e d names o f s t ree t s . H e s a i d

t h a t h e s t o p p e d h i s c a r b e h i n d some t r e e s o f f t h e r o a d i n ,

as h e p u t i t , " t h e paddock" . H e s a i d h e was a l i t t l e p a s t

the A l b e r t H a l l t o w a r d s t h e b r i d g e by which , no d o u b t , h e

mean t Commonwealth Avenue B r i d g e . I t a p p e a r s t h a t a t some

l

C t i m e d u r i n g h i s j o u r n e y f rom t h e I t a l i a n C l u b t o t h e s p o t i n i

"the paddock" h e had p i c k e d up a p a s s e n g e r b u t by t h e t i m e

o r a f t e r h e s t o p p e d t h e r e t h e p a s s e n g e r had l e f t t h e c a r .

To some e x t e n t h i s movements a r e a l i t t l e m y s t e r i o u s and I

was u n a b l e t o a c c e p t t h a t h e l e f t . t h e C lub a t 9 o ' c l o c k ta

t r a v e l i m m e d i a t e l y t o t h e p o i n t where h i s c a r was found . I

am s a t i s f i e d , t o o , t h a t h e was w e l l a f f e c t e d by i n t o x i c a t i n g I

l i q u o r	and	I	a c c e p t	t h e	e v i d e n c e o f	C o n s t a b l e	Crampton	t h a t	I	l
l

h e smelt t h e Eurnes o f w ine on M r . R a b e r ' s b r e a t h . l

N o a t t e m p t was made t o e s t a b l i s h f r o m members o f

-

t h e I t a l i a n C lub t h e time a t which M r . Raber l e f t t h a t C lub l

on t h e e v e n i n g o f 15-16 J u l y 1 9 8 2 and no e v i d e n c e e n a b l e s m e

t o s a y how l o n g h i s car was p a r k e d o f f Commonwealth Avenue.

I t may w e l l h ave been p a r k e d t h e r e b e f o r e t h e t i m e when i t s

p r e s e n c e was r e p o r t e d by t h e t a x i d r i v e r , a p p a r e n t l y a t 2 . 4 8

a.m. a s a p p e a r s f rom E x h i b i t P . I am s a t i s f i e d , t o o , t h a t

when M r . Rabe r was f i r s t app roached by t h e crew o f H o t e l 1 4 ,

h e was a s l e e p a n d , no d o u b t , f a i r l y h e a v i l y a s l e e p . I t

seems p r o b a b l e t h a t when h e f i r s t p u l l e d o f f t h e s i d e o f t h e

road h e s t o p p e d t h e e n g i n e because . a t one s t ag? he seems t o

h a v e wakened , s t a r t e d t h e e n g i n e t o w a r m up t h e c a r and

smoked a c i g a r e t t e . H e s a i d h e o n l y saw two p o l i c e m e n . H e

was n o t i n i t i a l l y p r e p a r e d t o a g r e e t h a t t h e r e was a

po l icewoman p r e s e n t a l t h o u g h s u b s e q u e n t l y h e r e c o l l e c t e d t h e

p r e s e n c e o f a l a d y . I t h i n k , > n t h e who le , t h a t h e d i d n o t

become f u l l y aware of w h a t i a s h a p p e n i n g u n t i l S e r g e a n t

S c a n e s and C o n s t a b l e Thorn :;OK o v e r t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f

t h e i n c i d e n t .

H e c o u l d n o t i d e n c i f y any o f t h e p o l i c ~ . o f f i c e r s

c o n c e r n e d i n t h e i n v e s t i g a t i s n , Asked how t a l l t h e y were h e

d e s c r i b e d o n e a s b e i n g a b o u t 3 : : f e e t t a l l and t h e o t h e r a

l i t t l e b i t s m a l l e r .

H e t h e n g a v e e v i d e n c e c h a t t h e b i g g e r o f t h e t w o

p o l i c e m e n g r a b b e d h i m by t h e jumper and p u l l e d h i m o u t of

t h e car and s u b s e q u e n t l y smacked h i m on t h e mouth c a u s i n g i t

t o become s o r e and h i s n o s e zs b l e e d . H e c o u l d n o t b e

c e r t a i n w h e t h e r t h e blow was , ~ F t h t h e f i s t o r w i t h what

a p p e a r s t o have b e e n a b a t o n :r some o t h e r o b j e c t . When t h e

b b i g g e r p o l i c e m a n g r a b b e d him . : = s a i d , "Cone o u t " . 1

H e s a i d h e was smacked o n c e o r twice. The l a r g e r

p o l i c e m a n t h e n t o l d him t o o p e n t h e b o o t . H e d i d . so. The

p o l i c e m a n checked t h e t h i n g s i n t h e b o o t and t o l d M r . R a b e r

t o p u t them back i n . The b i g g e r p o l i c e m a n t h e n checked

i n s i d e t h e c a r and found t w o f l a g o n s o f wine . H e t o l d t h e

s m a l l e r p o l i c e m a n t o b r e a k them on t h e t r e e s . The s m a l l e r

p o l i c e m a n d i d so. H e was t h e n a s k e d f o r h i s d r i v e r ' s

l i c e n c e and h e g a v e h i s w a l l e t CO t h e p o l i c e t o g e t h e r w i t h a

n o t e b o o k . H e c o u l d n o t remernbzr which of them a s k e d h i m f o r

h i s l i c e n c e . The l i c e n c e was n o t r e t u r n 3 d t o h i m . H e s a i d

t h a t t h e b i g g e r p o l i c e o i f i c e r s a i d , r e f e r r i n g t o t h e

n o t e b o o k , t h a t r Rabe r had some t e l e p h o n e numbers , M r .

R a b e r t o l d him t h a t t h e numbers were t h o s e o f t h e company h e

worked f o r and p r i v a t e numbers . The w a l l e t and book were

r e t u r n e d b u t b e f o r e t h i s was done t h e s m a l l e r o f t h e t w o

p o l i c e m e n t o r e two p a g e s f rom t h e n o t e b o o k . H e s a i d t h a t

t h e smaller o f t h e two p o l i c e o f f i c e r s pushed him b u t d i d

n o t smack him. H e s a i d , "The s m a l l e r o n e d i d n o t d o

a n y t h i n g much t o m e , m o s t l y t h e b i g o n e . " O f t h e s m a l l e r

o n e h e s a i d t h a t h e b r o k e t h e f l a g o n s , checked o v e r t h e c a r

and t o r e t h e p a g e s f rom t h e book,

H e s a i d t h a t h e was t h e n t o l d t o g o home and

s t a r t e d w a l k i n g . F i r s t h e s t a r t e d t o walk t o w a r d s t h e c i t y ,

i . e . i n a n o r t h e r l y d i r e c t i o n . H e was t o l d , "You d o n ' t l i v e -

t h a t way, you l i v e a t ~ a n n i a s s a [ t o t h e s o u t h ] ". H e t h e n

went t h r o u g h t h e n e a r b y u n d e r p a s s . H e s t a y e d t h e r e f o r a

c o u p l e o f m i n u t e s and t h e n r e t u r n e d t o t h e car and s t a r t e d

t o d r i v e i t o v e r t h e b r i d g e . He was h a l f w a y o v e r t h e b r i d g e

when h e n o t i c e d t h a t some p o l i c e were f o l l o w i n g h im, H e

c o u l d n o t s t o p on t h e b r i d g e b u t c r o s s e d it and t u r n e d l e f t

down a r o a d l e a d i n g t o t h e l a k e . T h e r e h e s t o p p e d where it

was f l a t . The p o l i c e came down and t o l d him "I t e l l you t o

g o home" . H e t h o u g h t t h e y were t h e same two p o l i c e

o f f i c e r s . H e c o u l d n o t be s u r e b u t h e t h o u g h t t h e y were t h e

same b e c a u s e t h e y s a i d t o him " I t e l l you t o g o home".

Again t h e y t o l d him ( t h i s t i m e b o t h o f them) t o g o home,

l e a v i n g t h e c a r . He s a i d t h a t t h e b i g g e r p o l i c e n a n g r a b b e d

him by t h e jumper and held him c l o s e t o t h e c a r . He said '

t h a t he d i d n o t smack h i m a g a i n b u t h e couldn't remember

--- v-

--

-.-

l	l
p e r f e c t l y	b e c a u s e he was v e r y s c a r e d . H e was p u s h e d a r o u n d

~

a l i t t l e and t o l d t o g o home. H i s e v i d e n c e s u g g e s t s t h a t h e

w a s a g a i n s t r u c k on t h e f a c e c a u s i n g h i s n o s e t o b l e e d a

l i t t l e more. The p o l i c e a p p a r e n t l y l e f t and h e wa lked up

o n t o Commonwealth Avenue where h e s t o p p e d a t a x i i n which h e

was e v e n t u a l l y d r i v e n t o where h e was l i v i n g a t Watson.

Cross -examined h e a g r e e d t h a t h e had had o n e

c o n v i c t i o n f o r d r i v i n g u n d e r t h e i n f l u e n c e o f a l c o h d l and

t w o f o r d r i v i n g w i t h an amount o f a l c o h o l i n e x c e s s of t h e

p r e s c r i b e d c o n c e n t r a t i o n i n h i s b l o o d . H e had a l s o been

c o n v i c t e d twice o f d r u n k e n n e s s . H e s a i d . t h a t while. . h e was

coming o u t ' o f t h e c a r h e was g r a b b e d and p u l l e d o u t on t h e

f i rs t o c c a s i o n . s u g g e s t i o n t h a t what T h e r e were some q u e s t i o n s d i r e c t e d t o t h e

had happened t o him m i g h t ha+e been as

a r e s u l t o f an "Maybe a c c i d e n t . H e s a i d ,

i t is a n a c c i d 5 n t f o r t h e

p o l i c e . Maybe t h e y d ropped m e o r

s o m e t h i n g l i k e t h a t . Maybe a c c i d e n t . I

no t e l l i f t h e y want t o smack m e o r

s o m e t h i n g , maybe a c c i d e n t b e c a u s e t h e

p o l i c e a r e n o t a l l o w e d t o smack t h e

p e o p l e . Maybe is a c c i d e n t , maybe n o t .

Yes, I s a i d t h a t t h e y had smacked m e ,

t h a t i s a l l , maybe t h e y t h i n k it is

a c c i d e n t , b u t no a c c i d e n t . "

Asked a b o u t a c o m p l a i n t t h a t he had a p p a r e n t l y made t h a t h e

was punched above t h e r i g h t e y e , he r e p l i e d ,

"No, i n f a c t t h e y had punched m e i n t h e

f a c e , I was b l e e d i n g , t h a t is a l l I

know. I c a n n o t remember now."

H e r e i t e r a t e d t h a t t h e p o l i c e had t o l d him t o g o home t o

Wann ias sa . He b e l i e v e d t h a t t h e y may have s e e n a Wann ia s sa

a d d r e s s o n h i s l i c e n c e . A f t e r s t a r t i n g t o l e a v e t h e s c e n e

a n d h a v i n g d e c i d e d t o r e t u r n t o h i s c a r h e d i d n o t see t h e

p o l i c e c a r any more a t t h e s c e n e o f t h e f i r s t e n c o u n t e r . H e

s a i d t h a t when t h e t a x i a r r i v e d t h e p o l i c e were s t i l l down

n e a r h i s car . H e s a i d t h a t h e had s a i d t o t h e t a x i d r i v e r ,

"Look t h e p o l i c e h i t m e and I d o n o t

know why."

H e c o u l d n o t remember w h e t h e r h e had p o i n t e d o u t t h e p o l i c e

c a r t o t h e t a x i d r i v e r . B e s a i d t h a t h e p a i d t h e t a x i

d r i v e ; w i t h money which h e had i n h i s p o c k e t . H e had

e a r l i e r s a i d t h a t h e had a r r i v e d home a b o u t m i d n i g h t .

B e f o r e h e went t o t h e p o l i c e t o c o m p l a i n a b o u t t h e t r e a t m e n t

l

'

which h e s a i d had been meted o u t t o him he needed h i s c a r

and went and f e t c h e d i t and went t o t h e p o l . i c 3 s t a t i o n . , H e

1 was a s k e d why h e had n o t been t o t h e p o l i c e s t a t i o n f i r s t

I I and l e t t h e p o l i c e see where t h e c a r had been l e f t . H e

i	r e p l i e d	t h a t h e	showed	them	e x a c t l y where	t h e	c a r had	been
1

1	l e f t .	H e was	t h e n	a s k e d ,
l

"Is t h e r e any r e a s o n why you d i d n o t

f i r s t g o to t h e p o l i c e and t h e n show

them where t h e c a r had b e e n l e f t ? "

H e r e p l i e d ,

"Because I d i d n o t want t o harm t h e

p o l i c e m e n . I d i d n o t want t o d o them

any h a r n and I t h o u g h t p e r h a p s i t was

n o t f a i r and t h e n I t h o u g h t w e l l ,

p e r h a p s i t was n o t f a i r t h a t this s h o u l d

happen t o m e , and t h e n I d e c i d e d t o g o . "

H? was t h e n a s k e d w h e t h e r on 15 March 1983 he had been

c o n v i c t e d o f h a v i n g commit ted an i n d e c e n t a s s a u l t on h i s

d a u g h t e r . H e a g r e e d t h a t h e h a d , t h a t h e had been s e n t e n c e d

t o n i n e months i m p r i s o n m e n t , and t h a t h e had p l e a d e d

g u i l t y . H e a l s o s a i d t h a t i n 1 9 7 2 he had been c h a r g e d w i t h

h i n d e r i n g t h e p o l i c e - a n d had been c o n v i c t e d o f t h a t o f f e n c e

and f u r t h e r t h a t on 24 hlarcii 1 9 7 6 h e was c o n v i c s e d O E

a s s a u l t i n g a female. One g a t h e r s that. t h e f e m a l e a s s a u l t e d

was h i s w i f e .

S t e w a r t Andrew N i c h o l l , a t a x i d r i v e r , g a v e

e v i d e n c e t h a t be tween 3.30 and 3.40 a.m. on 1 6 J u l y 1982 h e

was c a r r y i n g two p a s s e n g e r s n o r t h f rom P h i l l i p . H e saw a

man o n t h e med ian s t r i p i n Commonwealth Avenue a b o u t 100

y a r d s n o r t h of t h e b r i d g e . The man a p p e a r e d t o b e i n some

d i s t r e s s . H e had b l o o d o v e r t h e lower p a r t o f h i s f a c e

which a p p e a r e d t o b e coming f rom h i s n o s e . I t had n o t

s t o p p e d b l e e d i n g b u t w a s n o t b l e e d i n g f r e e l y . I t a p p e a r e d

t o h i s l a y m a n ' s e y e t o be l e s s t h a n a n h o u r and a h a l f o l d .

H e i d e n t i f i e d Mr. R a b e r . H e t o o k his t w o p a s s e n g e r s t o Bega

F l a t s and t h e n t o o k M r . Rabe r t o Moleswor th S t r e e t , Watson.

H e s a i d h e w a i t e d w h i l e M r . Rabe r went i n t o t h e h o u s e . Same

t i m e l a t e r , i t m i g h t h a v e been 7 o r 8 or 10 m i n u t e s l a t e r , a

woman came o u t and p a i d t h e f a r e . H e remembered h a v i n g t o

w a i t f o r t h e money. H e t h o u g h t it was a woman who came o u t

1

t o p a y him. H e had s e e n no o t h e r t r a f f i c i n t h e v i c i n i t y o f i

- Commonwealth Avenue B r i d g e . H i s a t t e n t i o n was n o t d i r e c t e d

f 1 ~

U t o t h e l a k e on t h e wester ,n s i d e of t h e b r i d g e .

J o b d o c k e t s p r o v i d e d by t h e A e r i a l T a x i S e r v i c e ,

E x h i b i t G , were c o n s i s t e n t w i t h t h e e v i d e n c e g i v e n by M r .

N i c h o l l .	I
l

C o n s t a b l e David James Kent s a i d t h a t o n t h e

morn ing o f 16 J u l y 1982 h e was i n a p o l i c e c a r t h e c a l l s i g n

o f which was S i e r r a 21. A t 3.07 a.m. h e l e f t t h e Woden

V a l l e y H o s p i t a l t o r e t u r n t o t h e C i t y P o l i c e S t a t i o n . P a r t

o f h i s r o u t e t o o k him a l o n g Cornonwea l th Avenue and across

Commonwealth Avenue B r i d g e . He r e a c h e d t h e c a r p a r k n e a r the

C i t y P o l i c e - S t a t i o n j u s t b e f o r e 3 .15 a.m. E x h i b i t N

i n d i c a t e s t h a t h e l e f t t h e Woden v a l l e y H o s p i t a l sometime

be tween 3 . 0 6 a.m and 3 . 0 9 $ a.m. H e c o u l d n o t r e c a l l w h e t h e r

h e saw any v e h i c l e s a l o n g Commonwealth Avenue o r n o t .

C o n s t a b l e S m e l t i n k g a v e e v i d e n c e t h a t o n 21 ~ u l y

1982 h e a t t e n d e d a t Commonwealth Avenue a b o u t 2 0 0 metres

s o u t h of Commonwealth Avenue S r i d g e . H e was shown a n a r e a

of g r a s s l a n d a b o u t t h r e e metres west o f t h e Avenue and a

t ree b e n e a t h which was a q u a n t i t y o f g l a s s l y i n g on t h e

L' g r a s s . H e t o o k p h o t o g r a p h s o f t h e g l a s s . The p h o t o g r a p h s

were t e n d e r e d and became p a r t o f E x h i b i t C , H e was shown

E x h i b i t s D and E , r e s p e c t i v e l y t h e g l a s s w i t h a l a b e l

a t t a c h e d t o it and a p i e c e of g l a s s , and i d e n t i f i e d them a s

h a v i n g been handed t o him by S e r g e a n t McGuff icke . H e

examined b o t h p i e c e s o f g l a s s f o r l a t e n t i d e n t i f i a b l e

f i n g e r p r i n t s b u t found none . H e found t h e neck o f o n e

f l a g o n and a p a r t o f t h e b a s e . H e found o n l y s u f f i c i e n t

g l a s s t o make up o n e f l a g o n . He s a i d t h a t t h e neck was j u s t

a p i e c e o f g l a s s w i t h o u t any c o r k o r s e a l o r t o p . I t s u p p e r

p a r t was c o m p l e t e b u t t h e l o w e r p a r t was j agged . H e f o u n d

no s i g n s e v i d e n c e o f o f wine w i t h i n t h e p i e c e s o f g l a s s . H e f o u n d no

any S e r g e a n t d i s t u r b a n c e o f t h e o u t e r s k i n o f t h e tree.

McGuff icke g a v e e v i d e n c e . A t a b o u t 1 . 0 0

p . m . on rida ay 1 6 J u l y 1982 i n company w i t h D e t e c t i v e

S e r g e a n t J o n e s h e i n t e r v i e w s d M r . Raber and a M r s .

0 ' Rourke . Mrs. O'Rourke a c t e d a s i n t e r p r e t e r f o r M r .

~ a b e r . He - n o t i c e d t h a t M r . Raber had a n i n j u r y t o t h e

b r i d g e o f h i s n o s e , a s w o l l e n t o p l i p and b r u i s i n g t o o n e of

h i s e y e s . M r . Rabe r was m e d i c a l l y examined by g r . smyth.

p h o t o g r a p h s were t a k e n o f Hr. R a b e r ' S f a c e . They e v e n t u a l l y

l l	formed	p a r t o f	E x h i b i t C .	H e was	t h e n	d i r e c t e d by	M r .	R a b e r
I

l a l o n g t h e r o u t e which h e had t r a v e l l e d on t h e e v e n i n g of 15

J u l y 1982 and t o which I h a v e r e f e r r e d a l r e a d y .

i d e n t i f i e d t h e t r ee shown t o h i m by M r . R a b e r . P h o t o g r a p h s

N o s . 7 and 8 f o r m i n g p a r t o f E x h i b i t C show t h e t r e e a s t h e

f i r s t i n a l i n e o f t h r e e s t r e t c h i n g t o t h e n o r t h . The l a s t

1 of t h o s e t rees is n e a r a p o i n t where a s t r e e t l e a d i n g f rom

t h e w e s t e r n s i d e a t a n a c u t e a n g l e d e b o u c h e s i n t o

Commonwealth Avenue a t a p o i n t some l i t t l e d i s t a n c e s o u t h of

Commonwealth Avenue B r i d g e . P h o t o g r a p h s 10 and 1 1 , a g a i n

p a r t of E x h i b i t C , sho-W a l o c a t i o n s a i d t o be t h e p o s i t i o n

i n Ac ton P a r k on t h e n o r t h w e s t e r n s i d e o f t h e b r i d g e which

M r . R a b e r p o i n t e d o u t t o S e r g e a n t MrGuf-ficke. S e r g e a n t

McGuff icke s t a t e d t h a t M r . Rabe r d i d n o t p o i n t o u t g l a s s t o

him b u t i n d i c a t e d a p a r t i c u l a r t r e e a l i t t l e i n f r o n t of:

which h e s a i d h e had p a r k e d h i s c a r .

S t a t i o n S e r g e a n t 0 ' Boyle g a v e . e v i d e n c e o f t h e

no rma l p r o c e d u r ~ i n r e l a t & n t o m e s s a g e s r e c e i v e d by

-

H e a d q u a r t e r s	and	t r a n s m i t t e d	by	H e a d q u a r t e r s	t o	m o b i l e
p a t r o l s .

A r a d i o e n q u i r y , E x h i b i t 0 , shows t h a t t h e message

f rom t h e t a x i d r i v e r was r e c e i v e d a t 2 . 4 8 a.m. on 1 6 J u l y

1982. The c a r d i n d i c a t e s t h a t S e r g e a n t S c a n e s and C o n s t a b l e

Thorn i n H o t e l 8 were f i r s t d i r e c t e d t o t h e s c e n e b u t t h a t

s u b s e q u e n t l y C o n s t a b l e s C a n t l e and Crampton i n H o t e l 1 4 t o o k

o v e r t h e t a s k . The t i m e o f a r r i v a l a t t h e s c e n e i s r e c o r d e d

a t 2 . 5 4 a.m. and t h e t i m e of r e s u n p t i o n o f p a t r o l is

recorded a s 3 . 0 1 a.m. These t imings accord w i t h those on

Exhibi t N which r e f e r t o Hotel 1 4 .

I see no re-lsor, t o doubt the accuracy of Exhibi t

N . I apparent ly made from Hotel S a t 3 . 4 9 a.m. was not completely recorded, accep t , however, t h a t i t i s poss ib le t h a t a c a l l

I s e t ou t the e n t r i e s appearing on Exhibi t N which

seem r e l e v a n t t o these ma t t e r s .

'I

i iotel 8

2:48.50	Hotel 8 - mobile job complet? (SCANES) Roger
2:50
Hotel 8
Hotel 8 ( S C A X E S )
Yes 8 We've had a r e p o r t t h a t

t h e r e ' s a Val iant Charger parked

on the medium s t r i p op2os i te the Albert Hall or,. Cornmonweril t h Avenue and t h a t i t ' s . been t l lere f o r approximately one hour w i t h ~ h e

engine running and t h e r e ' s a

person i n t h 2 veh ic le . Can you

look Yeah goger. ( o r ch2ck) i n t o i t p l e a s e .

2:51 c 1 0 seconds

Hotel 1 4 t o VL 1

Hotel 1 4

~ o b i l e C i ty Branch

-

Roger

Mate, you n igh t g e t t h a t c a r t o

check t h a t o u t , w i l l you, we 're

r i g h t down i n Canberra Avenue.

Roger. Hotel 1 4 can you check a

rzd Val iant .. Sorry 1 dos t know

the colour .. . . a Val iant Charger

parked on the medium s t r i p

oppos i te the Albert Hal l on

Commonwealth Avenue. I t ' S been

t h e r e f o r about an hour w i t h t h e

engine running t h e r e ' s a person i n

the veh ic le .

VL 1 4 copy

...

2:54 + 30 seconds

Hotel 1 4 out of the c a r A l b e r t Hall

One four

3:01 + 40 se-cands

Hotel 1 4 t o VL 1 mobile job complete

(Commonwealth Avenue)

fiotel 1 4

...

3:04 + 4 0 seconds

Hotel 8 . . . . t o VL 1

Hotel 8

Warrant check when you're ready, p lease

( SCANES )

Go ahead

.Chr i s t i an name - Danilo, Surname RqBER,

25 .l Stand-by .32.

3 :05 + 50 seconds-

Bravo 8 Bravo 8

Yeah, could I speak t o Hotel 8 , p l ease?

Hotel 8 -

(Hotel 8 ) Go ahead ( S C A N E S )

(Bravo 8 ) Are you f r e e t o speak?

(Hotel ' 8 - (SCANES)

Yeah, h e ' s (Bravo 8 ) Yeah Radar McGAHEY wants i n h i s c a r .

t o t a l k t o t h a t bloke about some

sex of fences . I'm wondering i f

you coc;.ld j t lst see i f y0.u. can get.

a new address on h i m . The l a s t

one was somewhere over Watson o r

Downer.

(Hotel 8 ) Yeah he seems a b i t queer

t o u s too. H e s a id he l i v e s i n

Flanniassa. We' l l g e t a proper

address and l e t you know.

..... 1'11	g ive	i t	t o	Radar
( McGAHEY )

(Bravo 8 ) Thank you.

( V L 1 ) Hotel 8 - ... No warrants

(Hot21 8 ) Roger.

s i e r r a ' 21	mobile	Woden	Bosp i t a l
S 2 1

3:09 + 30 seconds

Hotel 6 mobile C i ty

...

3:17

Hotel 8 - .... Mobile

Hotel 8 .

...

3:49 + 10 seconds

Hotel 8 . ..

Hotel 8"

A s indicated. e a r l i e r , I am s a t i s f i e d t h a t the

t r a n s c r i p t records accura te ly t h 5 wi re les s t r a f f i c between

Headquarters and the two p a t r o l cars , Hotel 8 and Hotel 1 4

a t t h e r e l e v a n t t i m e s a v e t h a t I a c c e p t t h a t t h e t e x t o f o n e

m e s s a g e f rom Hotel 8 may n o t h a v e been r e c o r d e d . I am

s a t i s f i e d t h a t t h e p r a c t i c e was t h a t n o b i l e p a t r o l s s h o u l d

i n d i c a t e t h e i r l o c a t i o n f rom t i m e t o t i m e e v e n though t h e y

were n o t engaged on a p a r t i c u l a r t a s k .

Mrs. O I R o u r k e g a v e e v i d e n c e . She remembered t h e

morn ing o f 1 6 J u l y 1 9 8 2 . She was M r . R a b e r ' s l a n d l a d y . - She

had accbmpan ied M r . Raber t o t h e p o l i c e S t a t i o n where h e had

s p o k e n t o v a r i o u s p o l i c e o f f i c e r s . She had a c t e d as

i n t e r p r e t e r and had t r a n s l a t e d c o r r e c t l y what s a i d and

what was s a i d t o him. She- remembered h i s coming home i n t h e

e a r l y h o u r s o f t h e morning o f 16 J u l y '1982. She n o t i c e d

t h a t h i s f a c e was v e r y b r u i s e d and h e had c u t s on t h e e y e s .

~ s k e d had s h e n o t i c e d a n y t h i n g e l s e a b o u t h i s f a c e s h e s a i d ? ,

" E x c e p t h e had a l l b r u i s e d f a c e . I

t h i n k s o m e t h i n g a r o u n d t h e l i p s o r

s o m e t h i n g a round t h e eyebrow h e r e . "

A l t h o u g h s h e s a i d s h e remembe'red h i s coming home by t a x i s h e

I d e n i e d t h a t s h e had p a i d h i s f a r e and c o n c l u d e d t h a t h e had

came home by t a x i f rom some th ing s h e was l a t e r t o l d . S h e

c o u l d n o t remember t h e e x a c t t i m e when h e came home. She

d e n i e d t h a t M r . Rabe r came i n t o bor row some money fsom h e r

t o p a y f o r t h e t a x i . She had s e e n M r . Raber t h e d a y b e f o r e

when h e had no b r u i s e on h i s e y e . Some l i t t l e c o n f u s i o n

a p p e a r s I n h e r e v i d e n c e from which i t m i g h t b e t h o u g h t t h a t

M r . R a b e r had been s h o p p i n g on t h e F r i d a y n i g h t and had come

i home b r u i s e d a f t e r t h a t b u t I am s a t i s f i e d t h a t Mrs.

O 'Rourke mean t t h a t t h e b r u i s i n g s h e o b s e r v e d was v i s i b l e on

t h e morning o f F r i d a y 15 J u l y '1982. The f o l l o w i n g p a s s a g e

o c c u r s i n h e r e v i d e n c e : -

id you t a k e M r . Rabe r t o t h e p o l i c e ? --- I

j u s t t a l k t o M r . g a b e r and I s a y t o r e p o r t

t h e	c a s e	t o	t h e	p o l i c e .	J u s t	d o	what	t h e y
s a y .

g id h e t e l l you a s s o o n a s h e came i n ,

b r u i s e d , t h a t h e had been b r u i s e d by t h e

p o l i c e ? --- No, h e t o l d m e d u r i n g t h e n i g h t

when h e came home.

Did you s u g g e s t t o him t h a t h e s h o u l d g o and

see t h e p o l i c e s t r a i g h t away? --- S t r a i g h t

away, y e s I d i d , you h a v e t o r e p o r t t h e c a s e

t o t h e p o l i c e .

Did h? r e p o r t it s t r a i g h t away when you t o l d

him t o ? --- N o , no. Then d u r i n g t h e n e x t

d a y , w e wen t , d u r i n g t h e e v e n i n g down t o t h e

p o l i c e . "

I am s a t i s f i e d t h a t H r s . O 'Rourke is a t r u t h f u l

woman b u t I b e l i e v e a l s o t h a t s h e had some d i f f i c u l t i e s w i t h

E n g l i s h , which is n o t h e r n a t i v e t o n g u e . I am u n a b l e t o

e s t a b l i s h however what was t h e t r u e p o s i t i o n r e g a r d i n g the 1

payment of t h e t a x i f a r e h a v i n g r e g a r d t o t h e c o n f l i c t i n g

e v i d e n c e o f M r . N i c h o l l . One o f them is c l e a r l y m i s t a k e n on

t h i s p o i n t and I am n o t p r e p a r e d t o a c c e p t t h a t M r . R a b e r ' s

e v i d e n c e r e s o l v e s i t . However, i n t h e v iew I - t a k e o f t h e

c 1 whole s i t u a t i o n , I t h i n k r e s o l u t i o n o f t h e matter i s o f no

i m p o r t a n c e .

A m i n u t e made by A c t i n g C h i e f I n s p e c t o r Michae l

C r a f t was t e n d e r e d . H e w a s n o t a v a i l a b l e t o g i v e e v i d e n c e

b u t M r . Bermingham t e n d e r e d t h e m i n u t e w i t h o u t o b j e c t i o n

f rom M r . ~ i g g i n s . I t was n o t s u g g e s t e d t h a t t h e m i n u t e d i d

not r e f l e c t f a i t h f u l l y what A c t i n g C h i e f I n s p e c t o r C r a f t had

b e e n t o l d by M r . R a b e r . I s e t o u t t h e t e x t o f t h a t minu te : -

" A t 1 2 . 4 0 p m t h i s d a t e I spoke t o M r ~ a n i l o

RABER of 26 Moleswor th S t r e e t , Watson, ACT

(DOE: 2 5 / 1 / 3 2 ) , a concrete? f i n i s h e r , i n

r e l a t i o n t o a n a l l e g a t i o n t h a t h e had been

a s s a u l b d by a number o f AFP P o l i c e members

on t h e e v e n i n g o f ~ h u r s d a y , 15 J u l y 1 9 8 2 . A t

t h e t i m e Mar ina O'ROURKE M r RABER w a s a ccompan ied b y Mrs

o f t h e same a d d r e s s , who on

s e v e r a l o c c a s i o n s a c t e d a s a n i n t e r p r e t e r

f rom t h e I t a l i a n i n t o t h e ~ n g l i s h l a n g u a g e .

2. M r RABER c l a i m e d t h a t a f t e r . f i n i s h i n g

work ' o u t i n t h e f o r e s t ' on 1 5 t h i n s t a n t a t

a b o u t 4.30pm h e had g o n e s h o p p i n g a t

Y a r r a l u m l a Shopp ing C e n t r e , t h e n i m m e d i a t e l y

b e g a n t o p r o c e e d home b e c a u s e ' I was v e r y ,

v e r y s i c k ' . M r W B E R t h e n r e c o u n t e d d r i v i n g

h i s mo to r c a r o v e r t h e b r i d g e , f e l t more

s i c k , and p u l l e d i n t o p a r k l a n d near Lake

B u r l e y G r i f f i n to have a s l e e p ,

3 . Mr RABER c l a i m e d t h a t a number o f P o l i c e

members r o u s e d him f rom h i s s l e e p a b o u t o n e

h o u r l a t e r and began a b u s i n g him w i t h terms

s u c h a s ' P o o f t e r ' . H e was r e q u e s t e d t o

f u r n i s h h i s motor v e h i c l e d r i v e r s l i c e n c e

which on p r o d u c t i o n was r e a d and t h e n t o r n

a p a r t . H e was t h e n i n s t r u c t e d t o a l i g h t f rom

t h e m o t o r c a r and on d o i n g so was punched

a b o u t t h e f a c e , p r e d o m i n a n t l y t h e mouth a r e a

a n d a l s o t h e l e f t c h e e k bone. H e was t h e n

i n s t r u c t e d t o l e a v e t h e a r e a , which h e d i d

i m m e d i a t e l y . A f t e r a s h o r t walk h e h a i l e d a n

A e r i a l T a x i and t r a v e l l e d t o 26 Moleswor th

S t r e e t , Watson , a r r i v i n g a t t h e l o c a t i o n

a b o u t 10.30prn t h a t n i g h t .

4 . Mr RABER s u s t a i n e d s w o l l e n l i p s as a

r e s u l t o f t h e a l l e g e d a s s a u l t by P o l i c e , t h i s

i n j u r y b e i n g c o n s t a n t l y i n d i c a t e d ( o r

r e f e r r e d t o ) by t h e c o m p l a i n a n t , A t no time

d i d l WBER m a [ k ] e m e n t i o n o f d i s t i n c t

b r u i s i n g above h i s r i g h t e y e , u n t i l

q u e s t i o n e d by me, and t h i s was a l s o c l a i m e d

t o have been done by P o l i c e members on 15

J u l y 1982. ~ l t h o u g h I am n o t q u a l i f i e d t o

g i v e e x p e r t m e d i c a l o p i n i o n , I f e e l s u r e t h e

b r u i s i n g above t h e e y e is s u b s t a n t i a l l y o l d e r

t h a n 4 8 h o u r s .

5 . A t times M r RABER was e x t r e m e l y h a r d t o

u n d e r s t a n d , e v e n w i t h t h e a s s i s t a n c e of M r s

O'ROURKE (who had a n e x c e l l e n t command of t h e

E n g l i s h l a n g u a g e ) and I found i t d i f f i c u l t t o

e d u c e i n f o r m a t i o n t o f i l l t h e a p p a r e n t time

g a p be tween and a r r i v i n g home a t a b o u t 10.30pm	f i n i s h i n g	work	a t	a b o u t on 15 ~ u l y	4.30pm
1982.

6 . M r m B E R r e c o u n t e d t h a t h e had v i s i t e d

t h e f o l l ~ w i n g l o c a l i t i e s a f t e r f i n i s h i n g work

on 1 5 t h . i n s t a n t : -

i Nar rabundah G r e e n g r o c e r y Shop, where h e

s p o k e t o a n I t a l i a n f r i e n d ( C h r i s t i a n

name s i m i l a r t o ROSSI)

* Y a r r a l u m l a Shops ( a l t h o u g h t h i s may h a v e

b e e n d u r i n g t h e ' l u n c h h o u r ' t h a t d a y )

*	The	I t a l i a n C l u b
7 .	The	c o m p l a i n a n t c l a i m e d t h a t a ' f r i e n d '

was i n h i s car when h e p a r k e d n e a r t h e l a k e

b u t t h i s o r i g i n a l t e r m i n o l o g y was l a t e r

a l t e r e d t o ' a p e r s o n ' , t h e i d e n t i t y o f whom

w a s unknown. M r RABER c l a i m e d t h a t t h i s

p e r s o n , p r e s u m a b l y a h i t c h h i k e r , had l e f t

the a r e a o f h i s p a r k e d car p r i o r t o t h e

a r r i v a l o f P o l i c e so o b v i o u s l y c a n be

d i s c o u n t e d a s a w i t n e s s .

8 . M r RABER c l a i m e d i n i t i a l l y t h a t h e d i d

n o t d r i n k i n t o x i c a t i n g l i q u o r , however , a t

o n e p e r i o d c l a i m e d t h a t h e had p u r c h a s e d a

number o f f l a g o n s o f win2 a t . t h e I t a l i a n C l u b

f o r h i s own consumpt ion ( b e f o r e l e a v i n g on 15

J u l y 1 9 8 2 ) . H e e m p h a s i s e d t h a t h e d i d n o t

consume i n t o x i c a t i n g l i q u o r a t t h e ~ t a l i a n

C l u b , m e r e l y g l a s s e s o f o r a n g e j u i c e .

9 . I n l i g h t o f t h e f a c t t h a t a M e d i c a l

E x a m i n a t i o n o f t h e c o m p l a i n a n t was w a r r a n t e d

I c o n t a c t e d D e t e c t i v e C h i e f I n s p e c t o r W.

BEALE, I n t e r n a l ~ n v e s t i g a t i o n D i v i s i o n , f o r a h

d i r e c t i o n a s t o : -

1 . Who s h o u l d t a k e t h e s t a t e m e n t o f

c o m p l a i n t , s h o u l d M r RABER c h o o s e

t h a t c o u r s e o f a c t i o n ;

2 . W h a t a r r a n g e m e n t s s h o u l d be made a s

t o a Med ica l E x a m i n a t i o n .

1 0 . The D e t e c t i v e C h i e f I n s p e c t o r , a f t e r

c o n f i r n a t i o n , a d v i s e d m e t h a t D e t e c t i v e

senior S e r g e a n t G. McGUFFICRX and D e t e c t i v e

A /Se rgean t P. J O N E S had b e e n a s s i g n e d t o t h e

m a t t e r and would t a k e a s t a t e m e n t i f

n e c e s s a r y and a r r a n g e a M e d i c a l E x a m i n a t i o n

by D r SHYTH, s h o u l d t h e c o m p l a i n a n t c o n s e n t

t o same.

1 1 . P e r h a p s I n v e s t i g a t i o n ~ i v i s i o n , t h i s r e p o r t c o u l d b e f o r w a r d e d

t o t h e o f f i c e r i n C h a r g e , I n t e r n a l

f o r h i s i n f o r m a t i o n . "

I n h i s s t a t e m e n t made t o S e r g e a n t McGuff icke on

9 Augus t 1982 C o n s t a b l e Thorn s t a t e d t h a t h e a t t e n d e d a

p o s i t i o n a l o n g Commonwealth Avenue, a d j a c e n t t o the C a n b e r r a

Hotel , where h e h e a r d C o n s t a b l e s C a n t l e and Crampton

s p e a k i n g t o a ma le p e r s o n s e a t e d i n a w h i t e motor v e h i c l e .

He s a i d - t h a t a f t e r t e l l i n g C o n s t a b l e Crampton t o r e t u r n t o

h i s no rma l d u t i e s , S e r g e a n t canes s p o k e t o t h e man who

seemed t o h a v e a n a r r o g a n t a n . H e d e t e c t e d a s t r o n g

s m e l l o f a l c o h o l coming f r c m t h e : a r . The k e y s were i n t h e

o f f e n c e i n r e l a t i o n t o M r . R a b e r ' s d i a r y o r n o t e b o o k ( C h a r g e

N o . A.F.2. 5 8 / 8 2 8 3 ) . The d i a r y shows two p a g e s t o b e

m i s s i n g and I a c c e p t what M r . Raber s a i d c o n c e r n i n g th i s

m a t t e r . I t is a b i z a r r e i n c i d e n t , so b i z a r r e t h a t I c a n n o t

a c c e p t t h a t i t d i d n o t happen a s M r . Rabe r s a i d it d i d ,

I f i n d Cha rge N o . A . F . P . 5 6 / 8 2 8 3 a g a i n s t C o n s t a b l e

T h o r n p r o v e n to t h e e x t e n t o f t h e t a k i n g of t h e t w o f l a g o n s

a n d t h e d e l i b e r a t e b r e a k i n g o f o n e , I a m unahl>e t o

d e t e r m i n e t h e u l t i m a t e f a t e o f t h e second f l a g o n . I was

q u i t e u n a b l e t o a c c e p t C o n s t a b l e T h o r n ' s e v i d e n c e c o n c e r n i n g

h i s d i s c o v e r y o f t h e g l a s s and a m s a t i s f i e d t h a t someth.ing

v e r y l i k e what I have s u g g e s t e d above took p l a c e .

Except i n r e s p e c t o f C h a r ~ e No,. A.F.Pt. 53/8283' , , I

h a v e been s a t i s f i e d beyond r e a s o n a b l e d o u b t o f t h e

commiss ion o f t h e o f f e n c e s found p r o v e n b u t i n r e a c h i n g

t h e s e d e c i s i o n s I have a p p l i e d , n o t t h e c r i m i n a l o n u s o f

p r o o f , b u t t h a t s e t o u t i n S c a n e s v . WiLson' ( s u p r a ) , b e a r i n g

-

i n mind t h e g r a v i t y o f t h e r e l e v a n t c h a r g e s .

No c a s e was s o u g h t t o be made under ~ e g u l a t i o n

1 8 1 2 ) . w h i l e i t seems t h a t s u c h a case may have been made

o u t i n r e s p e c t o f a t l e a s t someb o f t h e mat te rs ch,arged*, r

t h i n k it i n a p p r o p r i a t e t o d e a l w i t h t h e o f f e n c e s c h a r g e d i n

any	way	o t h e r	t h a n	t h a t i n which	t h e y were	p r e s e n t e d	b e f o r e
me.

ina ally, I t h i n k I s h o u l d s a y t h a t no blame

a p p a r e n t l y a t t a c h e s t o any o n e i n a u t h o r i t y f o r t h e d e l a y i n

the i n s t i t u t i o n o f t h e s e p r o c e e d i n g s . M r . Raber' S k e r m of

i m p r i s o n m e n t	serves	t o	e x p l a i n	most	i f	not	a l l	o f	t h a t
d e l a y .

I c e r t i f y that t h i a an8 Ohr ?if?

preaoding p	a +i2*u@	~ 0 p y	b f	t h e
Reasons for-

Hr. J u a t i e a m? - <

l f Associate -$W

I

Dated:	&,&h,	I
!

I N THE FEDERAL POLICE ,	) 1
DISCIPLINARY TRIBUNAL	1

THE COMMISSIONER OF POLICE

a g a i n s t

SERGEANT WARREN DAVID SCANES

I N THE MATTER of t h e C o m p l a i n t s

( ~ u s t r a l i a n F e d e r a l P o l i c e ) A c t 1981

O R D E R S

THE PRESIDENT (RELLY J )

2 3 DECEMBER 1983

CANBERRA. A.C.T.

THE TRIBUNAL ORDER THAT:-

1 . I n r e s p e c t of t h e d i s c i p l i n a r y o f f e n c e a l l e g e d i n C h a r g e

N o . AFP.51/8283, namely:-

T h a t h e was g u i l t y of i m p r o p e r c o n d u c t i n h i s

o f f i c i a l c a p a c i t y , c o n t r a r y t o t h e p r o v i s i o n s

o f p a r a g r a p h 1 8 ( l ) ( d ) o f t h e A u s t r a l i a n

F e d e r a l P o l i c e ( ~ i s c i p l i n e ) R e g u l a t i o n s , i n

t h a t on o r a b o u t 16 J u l y 1 9 8 2 , o n t h e w e s t e r n

s i d e of Commonwealth Avenue b e t w e e n t h e

A l b e r t Hall a n d Commonwealth Avenue B r i d g e ,

C a n b e r r a i n t h e A u s t r a l i a n C a p i t a l T e r r i t o r y ,

h e d i d s e i z e D a n i l o RABER a n d p u l l him o u t o f

h i s motor v e h i c l e a n d t h e n d i d s t r i k e h im

a b o u t t h e h e a d w i t h h i s h a n d .

o f w h i c h h e h a s b e e n f o u n d g u i l t y , S e r g e a n t War ren D a v i d

S c a n e s b e r e d u c e d t o t h e g r a d e o f S e n i o r C o n s t a b l e

w i t h i n t h e r a n k o f C o n s t a b l e i n t h e componen t o f t h e

A u s t r a l i a n F e d e r a l P o l i c e p e r f o r m i n g g e n e r a l p o l i c e

f u n c t i o n s ,	t h e	r e d u c t i o n	i n	r a n k	t o	t a k e	e f f e c t	from
t h i s d a y .

2. In respect of the disciplinary offence alleged in Charge No. AFP.53/8283, namely:-

That he was careless in the discharge of his duties contrary to the provisions of paragraph 18 ( l ) (c) of the Australian Federal Police (~iscipl ine) Regulations, in that on or about 16 July 1982, having required Danilo RABER to produce for inspection his licence to drive a motor vehicle and the said Danilo RABER having so produced his licence, he failed to ensure that the said licence was returned to him.

of which he has been found giilty, Sergeant Warren avid

Scanes be reprimanded.

IN THE FEDERAL POLICE	1
1 No. 7 of 1983
DISCIPLINARY TRIBUNAL	1

THE COMMISSIONER OF POLICE

against

SERGEANT WARREN DAVID-SCANES

IN THE MATTER of the Complaints

(Australian Federal Police) Act 1981

REASONS FOR PENALTY	KELLY J
23 DECEMBER 1983

On 9 December 1983 I made f i n d i n g s t h a t S e r g e a n t

Warren David S c a n e s ( S e r g e a n t S c a n e s ) was g u i l t y of t w o

d i s c i p l i n a r y o f f e n c e s p a r t i c u l a r i s e d i n my f o r m a l f i n d i n g s .

I found him n o t g u i l t y o f a t h i r d d i s c i p l i n a r y o f f e n c e w i t h

which h e had been c h a r g e d . P u t s h o r t l y , h e w a s found g u i l t y

of i m p r o p e r c o n d u c t i n h i s o f f i c i a l c a p a c i t y i n t h a t h e

a s s a u l t e d one D a n i l o Raber and of b e i n g c a r e l e s s i n t h e

d i s c h a r g e o f h i s d u t i e s . i n t h a t h e f a i l e d t o r e t u r n t o

D a n i l o Raber t h e d r i v e r ' s l i c e n c e which h e had r e q u i r e d him

t o p r o d u c e . My d e t a i l e d r e a s o n s f o r t h e f i n d i n g s I made are

set o u t i n t h e r e a s o n s p u b l i s h e d on 9 December 1983. I w i l l

n o t r e p e a t them. They may b e c o n s i d e r e d t o b e i n c o r p o r a t e d ,

so f a r as is n e c e s s a r y , i n t h e s e r e a s o n s .

By v i r t u e -of t h e p r o v i s i o n s o f s . 67 ( 3 ) of t h e

C o m p l a i n t s ( A u s t r a l i a n F e d e r a l p o l i c e ) A c t 198 1 ( t h e A c t )

t h e T r i b u n a l , when c o n s t i t u t e d by t h e P r e s i d e n t or a Deputy

P r e s i d e n t , may, i f i t f i n d s a member o f t h e A u s t r a l i a n

F e d e r a l P o l i c e g u i l t y o f b r e a c h e s o f d i s c i p l i n e and s u b j e c t

(- \

t o s s . 6 7 ( 5 ) and ( 7 ) o f t h e A c t , impose on him i n r e s p e c t o f

t h o s e b r e a c h e s s u c h p e n a l t i e s a s i t deems f i t p r o v i d e d t h a t

t h e y a r e p e n a l t i e s which t h e Commissioner would h a v e had

power t o impose upon t h e member unde r t h e p r e s c r i b e d

R e g u l a t i o n s i f h e had h e a r d and d e t e r m i n e d t h e p r o c e e d i n g s

and found t h e member g u i l t y o f t h e b r e a c h e s o f d i s c i p l i n e .

A c c o r d i n g l y , i n t h e s e c a s e s , t h e T r i b u n a l h a s power to:-

( a) reprimand Sergeant Scanes;

(b) impose on him a fine in respect of each offence not exceeding an amount equal to the salary payable to him for a period of 5 days at the rate at which salary is payable to him on the day on which the determination is made;

(C) reduce his annual rate of salary to an amount per annum not lower than the lowest annual rate of salary payable to members holding the same rank as he;

(d) reduce him to a lower rank (in Sergeant Scanesl case this could only be to a grade within the rank of constable since the rank of Sergeant which he presently holds is the lowest grade within the rank of Sergeant); or

(e) dismiss him from the ~ustralian Federal police.

(Regulation 22 of the ~ustralian	Federal police (~iscipline)
Regulations (the ~egulations).)

Before the Tribunal may impose a penalty upon a member under s.67(3) of the Act it is required by s.67(5) to consult with the Commissioner or with another member of the Australian Federal Police nominated by the Commissioner with respect to the penalty that it would be appropriate to impose in respect of the particular breach of discipline. Having handed down my findings as to guilt, I communicated with the Commissioner to advise him of those findings and to institute the consultation required by s.67(5) of the Act.

The Commissioner nominated Deputy Commissioner Farmer as the member with whom I should consult and in due course Deputy Commissioner Farmer communicated his views on the

1 appropriate penalty to me. I did not consider it necessary

to communicate further with him.

Because I considered it might be appropriate to impose a penalty of reduction in rank or dismissal upon Sergeant Scanes I gave him the notice required by s.67(7) of the Act. He duly responded. I have taken into account both

C the views expressed by Deputy Commissioner Farmer and the matters contained in the written statement furnished by

i	Sergeant Scanes under s.67(7). Sergeant Scanes adopted the course of annexing to
his statement for consideration with it copies of assessments and reports made of and on him during his police career and of material which indicated that he had been commended on a number of occasions for work done as a police
I	officer together with a substantial number of original

l	i , C-
L) references.

I also heard oral submission as to penalty from

counsel for Sergeant Scanes.

I have ignored a critical comment made on him which seemed to me to be based on materials which according to ordinary sentencing principles should have been disregarded as insufficiently based on proven facts.

In the earlier case of the Commissioner of Police

v . Donaldson in which I handed down reasons on 1 September

, 1982 I accepted that the rank of Sergeant (Sergeant Scanes

was an acting Sergeant at the time of the offences in question) is an important one within the police service requiring the holder to exhibit a number of qualities, not the least of which are dependability, leadership, awareness of his role as a leader of a group, integrity and loyalty. He may be required to induct new members to areas of responsibility, maintain discipline and welfare, supervise work and results obtained by the group under his control, issue and account for specialised equipment, prepare and

l

conduct training programmes and assess and develop

1 Cl

l

I	subordinates. It is said that he must be a person in whom
l
I	subordinates have complete faith, based upon the knowledge that he has shown that he deserves their respect and trust because of his diligence, reliability, good conduct and commonsense.
Considered against that standard, I am satisfied that Sergeant Scanes' conduct on the morning of 16 July 1 9 8 2 fell far short of that which might reasonably be expected of a Sergeant of the Australian Federal Police. It fell short to such an extent that, without more, it would warrant dismissal.
The material placed before me makes it possible to make an assessment of Sergeant Scanes as a police officer. (I mention, so that I may discard it from consideration because it happened so long ago, one matter that constitutes a blot on his record. It is discussed at length in the well known case of Scanes v. Wilson ( 1 9 7 4 ) 22 F.L.R. 262. ~t the time of the incidents with which that case was concerned he ,had been a police officer for just over 18 months.)

--

-. -

--.---p l

Sergeant Scanes was born on 1 January 1949. He is married. He was appointed in the rank of Constable to the Australian Capital Territory Police Force on 10 May 1971. He was promoted to the rank of Constable First Class in that Force on 10 May 1976 and to the rank of Senior Constable on 19 May 1978. On 19 October 1979 he was appointed to the Australian Federal Police and on 30 September 1983 was promoted to the rank of Sergeant. He was acting in that

1

i rank on 16 July 1982, had been so acting for some time and

l	C	no doubt continued so to act until he was promoted to the
l	substantive rank of Sergeant. In his 12i years service he
l	has carried out Embassy duty, general duties, mobile patrol duties and has served in Operations, the Transport Unit and in Communications where he is presently serving. I do not propose to go through in detail the various assessments made of him during his service, However, I set out two such assessments to indicate his development as a police officer.

In a report on him dated 4 August 1973 it was said

of him,

r\,	"His knowledge of operations room procedures is very good. Very limited in - practical police work. If he continues to improve as in past should develop into a practical Police officer."
Assessed for promotion on 1 1 November 1981 he was

reported on as follows:-

"The member has 103 years service in the ACT/AFP and has been employed in various aspects of the uniform branch in the ACT. He has fairly lengthy experience in Comunications from an operations point of view. He has also has responsibilities in the Transport unit

and wi th t h e J u v e n i l e id Bureau. He is

p r e s e n t l y a c t i n g a s a S e r g e a n t i n t h e

Genera l D u t i e s a r e a of C i t y Branch.

H e is h i g h l y r e p o r t e d upon by h i s

D i v i s i o n a s b e i n g competent and c a p a b l e

o? c a r r y i n g o u t t h e d u t i e s o f a n NCO

a l t h o u g h h e d o e s i n d i c a t e t h a t h e h a s

sough t c l a r i f i c a t i o n o f c e r t a i n a s p e c t s

o f h i s D i v i s i o n a l Assessment .

The c a n d i d a t e is a n e x p e r i e n c e d

s u p e r v i s o r who h a s a good a r r e s t r e c o r d

and c o u l d e f f i c i e n t member be d e s c r i b e d a s an a c t i v e and

o f t h e f o r c e . "

S e r g e a n t Scanes is p r e s e n t l y an a p p l i c a n t f o r

advancement t o t h e rank o f S e n i o r S e r g e a n t . H e h a s been

recommended a s s u i t a b l e f o r t h a t advancement.

H e h a s r e c e i v e d h igh commendation f o r t h e b r a v e r y

he d i s p l a y e d d u r i n g a n i n c i d e n t on 30 A p r i l 1982 when a man

t h r e a t e n e d t o blow h imse l f up w i t h h i s t h r e e c h i l d r e n .

On r e a d i n g t h e m a t e r i a l p l a c e d b e f o r e m e , I was

a b l e t o form a v e r y c l e a r p i c t u r e o f S e r g e a n t Scanes a s a

p o l i c e o f f i c e r . One r e p o r t by a p o l i c e o f f i c e r whom I know

and whose o p i n i o n i n t h i s a r e a I r e s p e c t d e s c r i b e d him a s

"an exper ienced ' s t r e e t pol iceman '" . The d e s c r i p t i v e p h r a s e

c a r r i e s w i t h it t h e i m p l i c a t i o n t h a t S e r g e a n t Scanes is

c a p a b l e of h a n d l i n g t h e d i f f i c u l t s i t u a t i o n s t h a t f r e q u e n t l y

a r i s e i n t h e l i f e o f a pol iceman whose b e a t i n v o l v e s him

w i t h c r i m i n a l s and what is f r e q u e n t l y d e s c r i b e d i n p o l i c e

r e p o r t s a s t h e "hoodlum element" . Such pol icemen v e r y o f t e n

have a h i g h a r r e s t r a t e , a s S e r g e a n t Scanes h a s , and a r e

f r e q u e n t l y i n s i t u a t i o n s where courage and c o o l n e s s a r e

demanded. They seem t o have t h e happy knack of be ing a t o r

n e a r a p l a c e where t r o u b l e is l i k e l y t o b reak o u t a n d , when

i t does b reak o u t , o f be ing a b l e t o b r i n g i t under c o n t r o l

quickly. One has 'known soldiers with the same knack. At the scene of trouble they are, as Sergeant Scanes was described in one rating report, "prepared to get involvedn. Such men who are frequently in danger and often under tension may be described as a hard professional core of those whose lives are dedicated to keeping the peace and ensuring the safety of the lives and property of the people they guard.

C ~ u t

their very good qualities put them at risk. Used to dealing so often with criminals or those on the verge of criminality, often described as the "hoodlum element", there is a temptation to deal with a problem on the spot in a way that might not always attract approval.

I recognise that the work of such a policeman demands continuing patience, courage and adroitness at handling difficult situations. The ability to display those qualities day after day, year in and year out, is something

0 the community demands of its police officers. It is not to be wondered at if occasionally the high standard the community sets and which the policemen of this Territory almost invariably attain, as my observation over many years has shown, is sometimes lowered by an unfortunate incident.

The course which the investigation of the offences before me took has prevented me from probing into the matters which may have caused Sergeant Scanes to act as he did on the morning of 16 July 1982. However, I can now, I think, take into account a fact which I was unable to

' consider before reaching my findings on the incident

involving Mr. Raber. The same morning, within an hour and a half, Sergeant Scanes was involved in another act of impropriety, not gross, when he failed again to return a licence to a driver of whom he had demanded it. He has admitted a disciplinary offence in respect of that incident. Although I do not regard it seriously, it seems to be out of his general character as a police officer. On consideration of the whole of the matters which I find to have occurred on the morning of 16 July 1982, I think that something caused Sergeant Scanes to act in a manner foreign to his ordinary character. I cannot say what it was but I am satisfied that his course of conduct over the whole morning can only be explained in some such fashion.

It is regrettable that Sergeant Scanes did not see fit to initiate action against Mr. Raber under the Motor Traffic (Alcohol and Drugs) Ordinance 1977 as it seems he might well have done with entire propriety.

I do not think the community demands the dismissal of Sergeant Scanes for what I see to have been an instance of aberrant behaviour. I am supported in this view by many testimonials from his colleagues and by a number of testimonials from others, not police. Many of those others I know and I feel bound to accord respect to their opinions.

After careful consideration I have reached the conclusion thgt to dismiss Sergeant Scanes from the police force would be to impose upon him far too great a penalty. I propose instead to reduce him to the rank of Senior Constable in the grade of Constable. Lest it be thought

that this is a light penalty, I point out that it will mean a substantial reduction in his salary and status (a status he has had for some years) and the destruction, at least for a time, of his hopes of promotion to the rank of Senior Sergeant.

What he did constituted a lamentable departure

from the standard required of a police officer of his rank.

I am, however, persuaded that the severe punishment which I

l

1

I now impose is sufficient to demonstrate the disapproval

C

which such conduct merits and yet saves for the community

the services of a police officer whom I am satisfied will '

continue to render good and courageous service. The penalty

is to be applied in respect of Charge No. AFP.51/8283.

I think the appropriate penalty in all the circumstances in connection with the charge of carelessness

(No. ~~~.53/8283) is a reprimand.

I order accordingly.

-

d Scze i

I certify t k a t +hiS dg*

preceding py.ges AA a h n n - - y of the

Reasons k- hoe;4 OF H ; S Honour

Mr. Jush'a .

RP/zww ~ c ; p c t r

Dated: 23 /'L/ k3

W.

I N THE FEDERAL POLICE	)
) N o . 8 o f 1983
DISCIPLINARY TRIBUNAL	1

THE COMMISSIONER OF POLICE

a g a i n s t

CONSTABLE KELVIN GEORGE THORN

l

l

I N THE MATTER of t h e C o m p l a i n t s

( A u s t r a l i a n F e d e r a l P o l i c e ) A c t 1981

O R D E R S

l	THE PRESIDENT
23 DECEMBER 1983

(KELLY J )

CANBERRA. A.C.T.

THE TRIBUNAL ORDER THAT:-

1. I n r e s p e c t o f t h e d i s c i p l i n a r y o f f e n c e a l l e g e d i n C h a r g e

N o . AFP.56/8283 t o t h e e x t e n t t o which h e h a s b e e n f o u n d

g u i l t y , namely:-

T h a t h e was g u i l t y o f i m p r o p e r c o n d u c t i n h i s

o f f i c i a l c a p a c i t y , c o n t r a r y t o t h e p r o v i s i o n s

o f p a r a g r a p h 1 8 ( l ) ( d ) o f t h e A u s t r a l i a n

F e d e r a l P o l i c e ( D i s c i p l i n e ) R e g u l a t i o n s , i n

t h a t o n o r a b o u t 16 J u l y 1982 , o n t h e w e s t e r n

s i d e o f Commonwealth Avenue be tween t h e

A l b e r t Hall and Commonwealth Avenue B r i d g e ,

C a n b e r r a i n t h e A u s t r a l i a n C a p i t a l T e r r i t o r y ,

h e d i d remove 2 f l a g o n s f rom a v e h i c l e owned

by ~ a n i l o RABER and t h e n d i d b r e a k o n e o f t h e

s a i d f l a g o n s

F i r s t C o n s t a b l e K e l v i n Geo rge Tho rn p a y w i t h i n 3

c a l e n d a r mon ths a f i n e e q u a l t o t h e s a l a r y p a y a b l e t o

him f o r a p e r i o d o f 5 d a y s a t t h e r a t e p a y a b l e t h i s d a y .

2. In respect of the disciplinary offence alleged in Charge No. AFP.58/8283, namely:-

That he was guilty of improper conduct in his official capacity, contrary to the provisions of paragraph 18(l )(d) of the Australian Federal Police (Discipline) Regulations, in

t h a t on or about 16 July 1982, on the western

side of Commonwealth Avenue between the Albert Hall and Commonwealth Avenue Bridge, Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory, he did tear two pages from a pocket diary owned by Danilo RABER

of which he has been found guilty, First Constable

Kelvin George Thorn be reprimanded.

IN THE FEDERAL POLICE	)
1 No. 8 of 1983
DISCIPLINARY TRIBUNAL	1

THE COMMISSIONER OF POLICE

against

CONSTABLE KELVIN GEORGE THORN

IN THE MATTER of the Complaints

(Australian Federal Police) Act 1981

REASONS FOR PENALTY	KELLY J
23 DECEMBER 1983

On 9 December 1983 I made f i n d i n g s t h a t c o n s t a b l e

( now C o n s t a b l e F i r s t C l a s s ) ~ e l v i n George Thorn ( C o n s t a b l e

Thorn) was g u i l t y of t w o d i s c i p l i n a r y o f f e n c e s

p a r t i c u l a r i s e d i n my fo rmal f i n d i n g s . I found him n o t

g u i l t y o f t h r e e o t h e r d i s c i p l i n a r y o f f e n c e s w i t h which he

had been charged , P u t s h o r t l y , h e was found g u i l t y on t w o

c h a r g e s o f improper conduct i n h i s o f f i c i a l c a p a c i t y i n t h a t

he removed t w o f l a g o n s from t h e v e h i c l e o f one Dan i lo Raber

and b roke one of them and t h a t h e t o r e t w o pages from a

CJ p o c k e t d i a r y owned by M r . Raber , My d e t a i l e d r e a s o n s f o r

t h e f i n d i n g s I made a r e set o u t i n t h e r e a s o n s p u b l i s h e d on

9 December 1983. I w i l l n o t r e p e a t them, They may be

c o n s i d e r e d t o be i n c o r p o r a t e d , so f a r a s is n e c e s s a r y , i n

t h e s e r e a s o n s .

By v i r t u e of t h e p r o v i s i o n s of s.67 ( 3 ) o f t h e

Compla in ts ( A u s t r a l i a n F e d e r a l P o l i c e ) A c t 1981 ( t h e Ac t )

t h e T r i b u n a l , when c o n s t i t u t e d by t h e P r e s i d e n t o r a Deputy

p r e s i d e n t , may, i f i t f i n d s a member o f t h e A u s t r a l i a n

C) F e d e r a l P o l i c e g u i l t y o f b r e a c h e s o f d i s c i p l i n e and s u b j e c t

t o s s , 6 7 ( 5 ) and ( 7 ) of t h e A c t , impose on him i n r e s p e c t o f

t h o s e b r e a c h e s such p e n a l t i e s a s i t deems f i t p rov ided t h a t

t h e y a r e p e n a l t i e s which t h e Commissioner would have had

power t o impose upon t h e member under t h e p r e s c r i b e d

R e g u l a t i o n s i f he had hea rd and de te rmined t h e p r o c e e d i n g s

and found t h e member g u i l t y o f t h e b r e a c h e s o f d i s c i p l i n e .

A c c o r d i n g l y , i n t h e s e c a s e s , t h e T r i b u n a l h a s power to : -

(a) reprimand Constable Thorn;

(b)	impose on him a fine in respect of each offence not exceeding an amount equal to the salary payable to him for a period of 5 days at the rate at which salary is payable to him on the day on which the determination is.made;
(c)	reduce his annual rate of salary to an amount per annum not lower t'han the lowest annual rate of salary payable to members holding the same rank as he;
(d)	reduce him to a lower rank (in Constable Thorn's case this could only be to the grade of Constable within the rank of Constable); or

(e) dismiss him from the Australian Federal Police.

(Regulation 22 of the Australian Federal police (Discipline)

Regulations (the Regulations).)

Before the Tribunal may impose a penalty upon a member under s.67 (3) of the Act it is required by S. 67 (5) to consult with the Commissioner or with another member of the-

Australian Federal police nominated by the Commissioner with respect to the penalty that it would be appropriate to impose in respect of the particular breach of discipline. Having handed down my findings as to guilt, I communicated with the Commissioner to advise him of those findings and to institute the consultation required by s.67(5) of the Act. The Commissioner nominated Deputy Commissioner Farmer as the member with whom I should consult and in due course Deputy

commissioner Farmer communicated his views on the appropriate penalty to me. I did not consider it necessary to communicate further with him.

Because I considered it might be appropriate to

impose a penalty of reduction in rank or dismissal upon

Constable Thorn I gave him the notice required by s.67(7) of the Act. He duly responded. I have taken into account both the views expressed by Deputy Commissioner Farmer and the matters contained in the written statement furnished by Constable Thorn under s.67(7).

Constable Thorn adopted the course of annexing to his statement for consideration with it a substantial number of original references.

I also heard oral submissions as to penalty from

counsel for Constable Thorn.

Constable Thorn was born on 22 January 1955. He

is married. He has been posted recently, for personal

reasons, to Queensland. He is described as having displayed

I

in his short time in the Australian Federal Police a degree

of enthusiasm and ability well above average. He was promoted to the grade of First Constable on 10 September 1983. He is well regarded by his present superior.

I have taken into account the references which Constable Thorn furnished. They show the high regard in which he is held and are made by men of standing.

It is not suggested that I should dismiss

Constable Thorn from the ~ustralian Federal police. Because

-

I think that his superior must bear much the larger share of

the blame for the whole sorry incident, I am the more

prepared to deal leniently with Constable Thorn.

In all the circumstances I think the appropriate penalty to impose is a fine of the maximum amount in respect of the charge relating to the flagons (Charge No. ~~~.56/8283). I think it is sufficient to reprimand him in connection with the charge relating to the pocket diary (Charge No. AF~.58/8283).

I order accordingly.

I

+,his 4

h a copy o f the

h e ~ i i i o f h i s Honour

Mr. ~ u s t i a e