Misconduct finding as inner west cops dump drunk man off in industrial estate
Shocking footage shows the moment two police officers drove a drunk man to a back street, dragged his limp body from their patrol car and left him face-down on the road.
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This is the moment two police officers dumped an intoxicated man onto an industrial back street in Chullora, leaving the helpless civilian with $5 cash in his pocket to find his way home.
The man, only identified as ‘Mr G’, was abandoned and left lying in the street in April 2018 after the officers picked him up in Burwood under the suspicion the Ugg boots and baby formula he was holding were stolen.
Instead of taking him to a police station, the officers involved drove 10km out to Dasea St, Chullora, pulled him out of the vehicle, left him in the road – but dragged his limp body back onto the pavement – before driving away.
His court attendance notice for the offences was then placed next to him, as he laid face-down on the ground.
The watchdog that oversees the conduct of the NSW Police is now concerned that such unlawful removals are “routine” on the force in the inner west, describing the officers’ actions that night as serious misconduct.
“Mr G could very easily have been killed. An unsuspecting truck driver could have been facing criminal charges for running him over,” the damning report into the incident found.
“Both officers could have been facing criminal charges arising from that event.”
What initially sparked the detectives’ interest in Mr G – a low level drug dealer – was his extensive criminal history and colourful language during the confrontation on Railway Pde, Burwood.
One of the officers involved told a secret hearing of the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission he dropped the man off in Chullora because he believed “nobody would be around so that Mr G could not engage in a breach of the peace there”.
The same officer also told the hearing he had conducted similar removals in the past, including a previous one involving Mr G.
However, just weeks before the report into the incident was released, the lawyer acting for the officer wrote to the commission to claim Mr G said: “let me out, I’ll rob c***s. I’ll f*** this place up. I’ll bash people. I’ll f*** Burwood and Strathfield up” before being dumped.
His colleague that night, similarly, said breaching the peace offenders had been previously dropped off to the industrial strip in Sydney’s south-west.
CCTV video released of the incident shows their cop car performing a three-point turn and pulling up alongside the man before eventually driving off.
A senior officer from the Burwood command, upon viewing the footage, told the behind-closed-doors hearing he found the vision “concerning”.
Both the officers at the centre of the incident have had their names suppressed in the LECC’s report, which found their actions endangered Mr G’s life and amounted to serious misconduct.
They have been withdrawn from full duties and the commission has recommended that “non-reviewable action” be taken against the pair.
“As per the recommendation of the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission, the NSWPF has taken appropriate internal action against both officers involved in this incident,” NSW Police said in a statement.
“Consideration will also be given to our training and education in this area.”
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