Cop who stole cash from motorist, then lied to cover it up is jailed

An ex-cop who admitted to a brazen and calculated cover-up hugged his crying wife goodbye in court as he was sentenced to jail.

Peter Colin Davidson at the Brisbane Supreme Court. Picture: NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

An ex-cop who admitted stealing from a motorist during a search, then lying to try to cover up his crime, has hugged his crying wife goodbye in court in emotional scenes after he was sentenced to jail.

Peter Colin Davidson, 41, appeared in the District Court in Brisbane on Tuesday before Judge Deborah Richards where he pleaded guilty to stealing in excess of $20 as a public service employee and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

In sentencing him to a head-sentence of two-and-a-half years in prison, Judge Richards told the father-of-four that his actions in abusing the community’s trust were “calculated”.

Davidson, who has now turned to goat farming and wedding video work, stole more than $20 but possibly more from a man’s wallet which he found in the glove box of the man’s car when he searched it on the side of the road in Oxley in the early hours of March 17, 2022.

Judge Richards said that one man estimated $3000 had been in the wallet, and another man said he had given his mate $1800 in cash so he could buy a ute.

Peter Colin Davidson leaving the Brisbane Supreme Court after he was sentenced for stealing as a servant and one count of perverting justice. Picture: Tertius Pickard

But prosecutors were only able to show “at least a $20 note was missing” because the victim and his friends “would not supply statements to the police … no doubt after the treatment they received from you”, Judge Richards said.

“In the glove box of the car was a wallet with a large amount of cash, you picked up the wallet, moved it, took money from it and returned it to the car,” Judge Richards said.

“You later picked up the wallet again, declaring it to the other police officer’s present, the money that was left in the wallet was counted at $1755,” she said.

“Later that day the owner of the wallet indicated that money was missing and you were told,” she said.

“That offence was bad but what follows is in my view more serious because of the lengths you went to, to cover your tracks and shift blame to the young men who were in the car at the time that you searched it,” she said.

“When the message was relayed to you that there was a complaint about the amount of money, you took action to attempt to obstruct justice by creating misleading entries on QPRIME and misleading the complainants about what happened, with a view to concealing your own offending,” she said.

“When you started your next shift you made a note on QPRIME that the complainants claim as to the amount of money seized was false, and you noted the amount of money which had been seized,” she said.

His attempt to cover-up his crime lasted seven days and he provided a false summary of interviews with the victim and his friends which was put into the police database.

Davidson’s offending was captured on his own body worn camera footage, his defence barrister David Jones KC said.

Mr Jones submitted that Davidson had been mentally scarred from his 12 years in the Queensland Police Service and he was mentally unwell at the time.

Davidson suffered flashbacks to a young girl who died when a car drove into a dam at the end of 2020 and he was handed the child and did CPR on her despite knowing she was dead.

“I have a great deal of sympathy for your position. The toll of your job has weighed heavily on you, and that is not surprising, I also accept the culture of the service at the time was not conducive you reaching out for help.

“But at the end of the day this is serious conduct that strikes at the heart of our justice system,” she said.

Judge Richards sentenced Davidson to two-and-a-half years’ jail for the attempt to pervert the course of justice and 18 months’ for stealing.

She set a parole release date of November 21 this year.