The Snitch: State’s toughest cops taken down by fashion police
From the state’s toughest cops being tackled by the fashion police to outing the alleged hot chip bandit and tributes to a leading criminal lawyer — The Snitch brings you all the inside news from the state’s police and legal circles.
NSW
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You may have noticed the burly-looking cops responsible for banging down doors and arresting dangerous crooks have lost their rugged edge.
That’s because the state’s toughest boys in blue have been taken down by the fashion police.
The hipsters and beard lovers from the Tactical Operations Unit, Public Order and Riot Squad (PORS) and Region Enforcement Squads (RES) have been told they can no longer have facial hair because it’s a hazard.
The word from the police hierarchy to the troops is that beards interfere with the suction of AR10 NBC respirator masks worn to chemical, biological and radiological incidents.
Trouble is, PORS and RES rarely, if ever, respond to such incidents where they need to dust off the gas masks, which are also used by the army.
The new grooming policy, which started at PORS commander Superintendent Donna Adney and rippled through RES, threatens to spark a revolt as officers fight for their right to bear hair.
“It’s a storm in a tea cup, just let them have their beards!” one defiant police source claimed.
Another source joked that some officers felt particularly aggrieved because a bit of facial hair didn’t do their chances with the ladies any harm.
The Snitch couldn’t possibly comment on that but it’s understood NSW Fire and Rescue fire fighters have encountered similar issues with beards interfering with breathing apparatus.
A NSW Police spokesman said the policy was still being assessed and no decision had yet been made.
CHIPPING AWAY
Last week The Snitch could only give you the thin edge of the wedge when we reported about a man who had been charged with larceny for stealing a chip.
Today, we can add the salt and gravy.
The man in question is Dok Mapuor Gorjock and we’re told he was charged after a drunken incident in a Western Sydney eatery where police allege he stole a chip off a patron’s plate.
It’s alleged Mr Gorjock made enough of a drunken scene to the point where one of the patrons called the police.
The cops turned up and had trouble moving him on, resulting in more charges beyond the theft of the chip.
Mr Gorjock has also been charged with behaving in an offensive manner in a public place, failing to obey a police direction as well as larceny to the value of less than $2000.
According to allegations in court papers, Mr Gorjock “did steal certain property to the value of $1, to wit, fried potato chip, the property of the victim.”
The alleged victim is not named.
Mr Gorjock has been bailed to appear in Parramatta Local Court and if the case heats up further, we’ll be all over it like a seagull on a …
NO KIDS ALLOWED
It’s a common sight to see large groups of schoolchildren at Sydney’s Downing Centre Court.
Sure, they take up all the seats in court and clog up the lifts, with a few of the cheeky buggers even pressing all the buttons on exiting, leaving The Snitch to endure an all-stops trip to the top floor.
But hey, it’s for the greater good that our young minds get to see how the legal system works.
Not so, it appears, for one judge who has put a temporary stop to it.
Outside Judge Richard Weinstein’s G1 court last week, a sign was attached to the front door that read: “School students are not suitable for this court.”
Judge Weinstein’s chambers did not return calls to answer questions as to whether the motivation for the sign was because there was disturbing evidence being heard or if he was just sick of giggling kids in his court.
VALE TREVOR NYMAN
A legend of the legal profession who represented the wrongly accused, beleaguered politicians and every underworld figure in between, has died.
Trevor Nyman practised criminal law for more than three decades, founded Sydney firm Nyman, Gibson and Miralis and was an accredited criminal law specialist.
He had a string of high-profile cases, including Lindy Chamberlain’s plea of innocence in the 80s, former Labor MP Tony Aquilina’s fraud charges and drug allegations against TV personality Sam Newman’s ex-girlfriend.
His reputation took a battering when he was dragged through the Royal Commission into police corruption in the 90s and accused of perverting the course of justice and taking kickbacks.
He vehemently denied the allegations.
The solicitor died last Monday at 81.
DUI DETAILS
We can return this week to the case of the regional traffic boss and his designated driver wife.
Jane Elizabeth Carla Miller, 47, pleaded guilty in Albury Local Court this week to drink driving on the way home from a Suzi Quatro concert in March.
Mrs Miller was behind the wheel while her hubby, Traffic and Highway Patrol senior sergeant Dean Miller, was in the passenger seat when she was pulled over for a random breath test at Table Top.
The court had heard Mrs Miller drank eight UDLs throughout the concert and second guessed her original decision to catch a taxi home.
The mother-of-three, who blew 0.096 and was almost twice over the legal limit, was fined $500 and had her licence suspended for three months.
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