Qld police failed officer killed in line of duty

The Queensland Police Service has made a stunning admission over the death of a senior police officer killed in the line of duty while trying to stop a stolen car.

The scene where Senior Constable Dave Masters was killed on Bruce Highway after trying to lay stingers north of Brisbane. Photo: Steve Pohlner

The Queensland Police Service has been fined more than $400,000 over its failure to provide adequate training to an officer killed in the line of duty while trying to stop a stolen car.

Respected Mounted Unit Senior Constable Dave Masters, 53, died in June 2021, when he was hit by a stolen car while attempting to deploy a tyre-deflation device along the Bruce Highway at Burpengary in the early hours of the morning.

The Caboolture Magistrates Court was told Constable Masters was not adequately trained to deploy tyre-deflation devices (TDD) and completed training just four times in 10 years, including one session over a power point presentation.

The Queensland Police Service pleaded guilty and was fined $425,000 after a Workplace Health and Safety investigation charged the service with one count of failure to comply with health and safety directions.

Senior Constable Dave Masters.

Queensland Police Union president Shane Prior told The Courier-Mail the court action “validates the concern” of frontline police and called for gas-powered remotely operated devices, rather than ones that require to be manually deployed.

“As president of the QPU I want the Police Commissioner to act swiftly and issue these remote tyre deflation devices for every police vehicle in the state and implement training so every officer is qualified to use them,” Mr Prior said.

According to documents, Constable Masters completed TDD training in 2011, 2013 and twice in 2019 over a total of five hours.

One of the training blocks was a power point presentation and another was a course while in the police academy.

“The defendant should have eliminated the risk … by ensuring that prior to the task (Constable Masters) received adequate training,” court documents said.

“The failure exposed the deceased to a risk of death or serious injury.”

Between 2014 and 2020, court documents stated there were nine incidents of TDD-related injuries within the QPS. All of the officers injured had limited training.

Queensland Police Union president Shane Prior. Picture: David Clark

Prosecutors in the court action submitted a penalty range between $200,000 and $400,000, however Magistrate James Blanch sentenced QPS to be fined $425,000.

No conviction was recorded for QPS.

Mr Prior said he had spoken to the Masters family and the court action had “stirred up their emotions again”.

“They have always been confident Dave acted the way he had been trained and really there are only two people that should be held responsible for his death and they are still yet to face a trial,” he said.

The alleged driver of the car which hit Constable Masters, Skye Anne Wallis and her passenger Kari Louise O’Brien, 27, have both been charged with his murder.

They are awaiting trial.

Constable Masters joined the service late in life after working for some years as a diesel mechanic. He began working part-time at the Mounted Unit in 2014 and became full-time in 2015.

Constable Masters is survived by his wife Sharon and son, Jack.

Deputy Commissioner Mark Kelly. Picture: Steve Pohlner

Queensland Police Deputy Commissioner Mark Kelly said the service was evaluating automated stingers after a trial of the devices in North Queensland.

“We are committed, and have been committed to reviewing our policies and increasing our training,” Mr Kelly said.

“We’ve had trials in Townsville and Cairns, those trials were completed earlier in the year.

“We are now doing our due diligence of work to understand the full system that’s required for those automated stingers, costs, obviously there’s vehicle implications for those stingers.

“We need to remain really vigilant around the use of stingers and our training needs to continue to improve and evolve.”

A Queensland Police Service spokeswoman said the findings of the investigation and resultant charge was accepted.

“Following the incident, WHS investigations identified a breach of the WHS Act and commenced proceedings against the state in relation to one charge of failing to comply with its duty to ensure the health and safety of workers, exposing an individual to a risk of death, serious injury, or illness,” the spokeswoman said.

“The QPS will not be contesting the charge.

“Regrettably, the QPS acknowledges that the Service failed to comply with its duty to ensure the health and safety of workers, by not providing the effective and relevant training around the use of tyre deflation devices (TDD).”

The spokeswoman said the service was committed to improving training, equipment and procedures to avoid similar tragedies in the future, which included face-to-face training.

“The QPS has also invested heavily in equipping officers with TDDs that provide additional safety to officers and is actively trialling new technologies including remotely-activated TDDs.”