The Snitch: Raptor cop slapped over racist social media video

Which cop is in strife over a social media post? Who got the fail of the week? How many guns get stolen from cops? And what’s the family connection in the Lehrmann case? The Snitch is here.

Chalk up another victim to the tempting evils of social media.

This week it’s a Strike Force Raptor cop who came to the attention of his boss’s bosses thanks to a video and got in strife as a result.

Last week we revealed the existence of a video doing the rounds of a car full of Raptor officers, all clad in full protective gear, driving in convoy to a job while Fortunate Son by Creedence Clearwater Revival played on the stereo.

One of the officers, who was disguised with speed dealer sunnies and face covering, was filming, selfie-style.

The video also featured the caption at the bottom: “Going to smash some Viet c--ts”.

The video that saw this officer placed on restricted duties.

The clip did the rounds and found its way back to the officer’s bosses, who weren’t pleased. One of those was State Crime Commander, Assistant Commissioner Michael Fitzgerald.

“I have been made aware of a video circulating online and I am very disappointed,” he said.

“The NSWPF does not tolerate this kind of conduct and is an organisation in which we strive to respect and value the diversity of all people who make up the community we serve.

“The officer has been placed on restricted duties while the matter is investigated.”

AVO FAIL

Fail of the week goes to the cops that handed out what could be the world’s most pointless AVO and dragged a man through court as a result.

Matthew James Fuz was suspended from his job and had to fork out for a lawyer over the incident that unfolded after 10.30pm on a night out in Caringbah on January 27 that landed him in Sutherland Local Court this week fighting an AVO that the police took out to protect his ex-girlfriend.

Police withdrew the AVO at the end of the hearing on Friday, but only after the farcical circumstances leading up to it being taken out.

The court heard Fuz went into the Snug Bar about 10.30pm but left when he saw the woman because he did not want a confrontation.

Matthew Fuz.

Paul McGirr. Picture: Damian Shaw

The woman, who was heavily intoxicated, followed him into another venue and he left again, the court was told.
Outside, the woman began arguing with him and assaulting Fuz, causing him to push her away.

Police arrived and spoke to Mr Fuz, who explained the situation and showed them his injuries.

He was arrested and taken to Miranda Police Station, where he was released without charge. But police took an AVO out against him to protect the woman even though, the court was told, she didn’t ask for one.

His lawyer Paul McGirr told Magistrate Hugh Donnelly there was almost no information in the brief of evidence to support the AVO.

There was no evidence from the woman and no statement from the two police officers who attended the scene.

Outside court, Mr McGirr said his client would be pursuing the state for costs after it led to Mr Fuz being suspended from his job with the state government.

“We can’t have cops going around handing these things (AVOs) out like lollies,” Mr McGirr said. “It ruins people’s lives and the police must be held accountable for instances like these.”

STOLEN GUNS

Ever sit awake at night wondering about how many police guns get stolen every year?

Same here.

Turns out it is not that many.

According to figures released under Freedom of Information laws, only one police-issued pistol, a Glock 22, has been stolen from the cops since 2014.

That was the infamous case The Sunday Telegraph revealed in 2017 where a group of teens broke into an unmarked cop car parked outside a Rydalmere house and stole the Glock that the soon to be panicked officer had left in the car.

The teens had used a stolen BMW during the break in, which police later found with a bullet hole in the windscreen.

The FOI detailed that the Glock was “recovered” in 2017 and police made arrests over the stolen gun, allowing the officer who left it in the car to breathe a massive sigh of relief.

Another stolen gun remains a mystery. It was stolen in 1999 and was recovered in 2022, according to the FOI.

Neither have anything to do with the Glock found in the eastern suburbs home of Kings Cross boss John Ibrahim’s now-wife Sarah Budge, which was also in 2017.

That was a stolen Glock 26 and Budge was acquitted of gun possession charges over the firearm that was found in a cupboard inside a unit after it was argued the gun could have been put there by someone else.

RICHO JR

More trainspotting from the Bruce Lehrmann defamation case ahead of Justice Michael Lee’s bombshell judgment tomorrow, and we can tell you that Lehrmann’s barrister is the son of a celebrity.

Graham Richardson. Picture: Justin Lloyd

Matthew Richardson SC, is the son of veteran Labor powerbroker turned media commentator Graeme Richardson.

Richardson senior was a key figure in the Hawke and Keating governments, and has turned his talents to political commentary in the media, most recently with Sky News.

His barrister son, on the other hand, we’re told, is a much more under-the-radar type. This is despite appearing in some of the highest-profile cases in Australia.

They have included the defamation cases of soldier Ben Roberts-Smith and cricketer Chris Gayle.

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