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| NEWS > 19 May 2008 |
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Next police chief must make in
Half Moon Bay's next police chief must do a better job of informing residents about critical matters of public interest.
That has been clear for a while now, but it came into stark relief last week when word leaked that one of the city's police officers had been put on administrative leave with pay during an investigation into whether he withheld information in the shocking case of a martial arts instructor who acted inappropriately with his teenage students. Word of the allegations came from agencies outside of the city's police station and not from the men entrusted with our safet... Read more
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 Article sourced from
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The Australian - Sydney,Austra
19 May 2008
This article appeared in the above title/site.
To view it in its entirity click this link.
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Ex-cop calls for probe of OPP
A FORMER Victorian police officer claims he has been a victim of corruption and cover-ups at the highest levels of the force after blowing the whistle on detectives allegedly fabricating evidence to obtain court warrants for listening devices.
Gerry McHugh is demanding an independent review of the decision by Victoria's Office of Public Prosecutions not to prosecute two detectives after a four-year internal inquiry recommended they be charged with 11 offences, including attempting to pervert the course of justice.
The investigation found that supposed evidence used in sworn affidavits lodged in the Victorian Supreme Court to obtain warrants to bug Mr McHugh's home and cars included information that came from a clairvoyant and tarot-card reader.
Mr McHugh's call for an independent review has been backed by the officer leading the internal investigation, codenamed Operation Trencher, who told The Australian he and other investigators were "concerned about the reluctance of the OPP to prosecute". "We can't understand why it's not being prosecuted, given it is in the public interest," Detective Senior Sergeant Bill Nash said.
Mr McHugh was a detective in the northwest Victorian city of Mildura when he discovered his house and cars had been bugged in 1999 as part of a police investigation into allegations another detective was involved in two murders.
Mr McHugh did not know Denis Tanner, the detective allegedly involved in the murders of Jennifer Tanner in 1984 and transsexual prostitute Adele Bailey in 1978. He was subsequently cleared of any links to Mr Tanner or any involvement in the murders.
Mr Tanner was named as the killer of Jennifer Tanner by a Victorian coroner in 1998, but was never charged and denies involvement in both murders.
In a letter to Victorian Attorney-General Rob Hulls in February, Mr McHugh says he and his family were traumatised by the events, including repeated failures by Victoria Police and the police corruption watchdog to adequately investigate his complaints.
He says an assistant commissioner deliberately hindered an earlier investigation in a bid to protect the two detectives and cover up what had happened.
In the letter, seen by The Australian, Mr McHugh says the allegations against the two detectives responsible for bugging his home "are extremely serious and strike at the very heart of our justice system".
He says he wants the decision made by the OPP late last year not to prosecute the two detectives reviewed by an independent legal counsel, because of a potential conflict of evidence.
Victorian Director of Public Prosecutions Jeremy Rapke QC and one of his senior staff worked closely with the two detectives during the coronial inquests into the deaths of Bailey and Tanner.
Mr McHugh resigned from Victoria Police in 2005. In 2006 he received one of the largest out-of-court settlements ever paid by Victoria Police after suing the force for damages.
An OPP spokeswoman said Mr Rapke had arranged for the brief of evidence to be independently assessed by a senior prosecutor because of the perceived conflict caused by his involvement in the Tanner and Bailey inquests.
Mr Hulls said it was not for the Attorney-General to be "second-guessing independent decisions of the DPP".
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