NT Police say leaking of barrister Jon Tippett’s Palmerston watch house interview an ‘accident’
NT Police will not lay charges after a senior barrister’s ‘humiliating’ drink driving cop shop interview was ‘accidentally’ unlawfully leaked to the public.
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A senior Northern Territory barrister has labelled an internal police investigation into unauthorised leaking of his watch-house interview “clearly disingenuous” and “unacceptable”.
On Monday, NT Police confirmed no charges were being considered following a months-long investigation into the unauthorised disclosure of CCTV footage of Top End defence lawyer Jon Tippett while in the Palmerston watch-house.
The video shows Mr Tippett joking and laughing with officers at the watch-house on Friday November 15, after he crashed into the back of a stationary police car.
The senior barrister’s breath test recorded a 0.111 blood alcohol reading — double the legal limit.
The footage was leaked in January, yet the NT Police Professional Standards Command was unable to work out how it found its way to the media.
“(NT Police) can now confirm that the video file was allegedly sent unintentionally by a contracted public servant to a private lawyer who was not involved in the case in question,” a spokesman said.
“Investigations have been unable to show how the footage went on to be released to the media.
“At this stage, there has been no formal complaint into the release of the footage.”
NT Police said the public servant “has been spoken to” and investigators believed the release was an accident “in a busy work environment”.
However Mr Tippett said NT Police’s explanation “makes no sense and is clearly disingenuous”.
Mr Tippett said the video file from “secure police databases cannot be sent unintentionally by contracted public servants — whatever that means — to private lawyers”.
“On the material provided by police, the explanation is unacceptable.
“I reject the police assertion that a thorough and bona fide investigation has been carried out.”
Mr Tippett also refuted the claim no formal complaint had been made, with his solicitor making a written submission to police while he had repeatedly publicly called for a proper investigation.
Indeed after appearing in Darwin Local Court to plead guilty to careless and drink driving on Thursday, Mr Tippett raised serious concerns about the leaking of the CCTV footage to journalists.
“Police are in possession of an unlawful act — their systems have been breached,” he said outside of court.
“I have been, of course, publicly humiliated by it.
“I call on the NT Police to do their job, to find the perpetrator who released unlawful information.”
Unlawful disclosure of confidential information is an offence that carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison.
Last year police charged NT Court media liaison for providing confidential information to journalists, despite a judge finding the breach was “approaching trivial”.
Police laid charges after Cynthia Thompson provided information about court cases related to the spent conviction against an NT politician, and a cop who was charged with multiple counts of aggravated assault, unlawfully accessing data and using a carriage service to harass.
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Originally published as NT Police say leaking of barrister Jon Tippett’s Palmerston watch house interview an ‘accident’
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