Lawyer questions senior police over charges dropped midway through day one of trial
Senior police should be questioned about why an officer was charged over an expletive-laden rant outside a mental health breakfast, a lawyer has claimed.
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SENIOR police should be questioned about why an officer was charged over an expletive-laden rant outside a mental health breakfast, a lawyer has claimed.
Senior Constable James Treanor was on Monday cleared of public nuisance following a foul-mouthed tirade outside the Broadbeach Bowls Club on March 20 last year.
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The charges were only dropped after other officers told the Southport Magistrates Court that it was clear Sen Const Treanor was “in crisis” and having a “welfare issue” at the time.
An officer who saw the incident said it did not occur to him to press charges.
It was not until Assistant Commissioner Brian Wilkins asked for a misconduct report to be made that charges were laid.
Outside of court, Sen Const Treanor’s lawyer Chris Hannay, of Hannay Lawyers, said the charges being dropped was a “mutual decision”.
He said it could have been appropriately dealt with through internal police channels.
“One can only ask the senior officers involved how it got to this point,” Mr Hannay said.
Mr Hannay said it was clear Sen Const Treanor was having mental health issues at the time.
The rant happened moments after Assistant Commissioner Wilkins had given a speech at a police mental health breakfast at the Broadbeach Bowls Club.
Sen Const Treanor approached Assistant Commissioner Wilkins and asked if the mental health help offered in the speech applied to him as well.
Assistant Commissioner Wilkins told the court: “I said ‘I told you that I’m not going to talk to you in relation to personal issues’. And I said that he was being smart and to leave.”
CCTV footage of the incident shows the pair shaking hands and speaking for about 12 seconds. Body-worn camera footage from Sen Const Treanor also shows him talking to the top cop.
Sen Const Treanor is heard to say: “I don’t want to talk to you. You have just upset me. You obviously don’t want me here. I’ll go.”
Assistant Commissioner Wilkins instructed Senior Sergeant Paul Hunter to follow Sen Const Treanor outside to “tell him he can’t talk to me like that”, the court was told.
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Both Sen Sgt Hunter and Sergeant David Dixon said when they got outside they heard Sen Const Treanor threatening to “blow his brains out”.
It was then Sgt Dixon’s body-worn camera was switched on and the expletive-laden rant was captured.
During the rant, Sen Const Treanor called the top cop a “f***ing coward”, among other names.
“I asked him if he includes me and he tells me he I am being inappropriate,” he said.
“R U OK? What a load of f***ing bulls***.”
Sen Sgt Hunter said it never crossed his mind to press charges.
“In my view, it was purely a welfare issue for me, so that thought didn’t even cross my mind,” he said.
Sgt Hunter said Treanor was clearly distressed.
“He was very upset. His demeanour was very angry about what happened,” he said.
“I thought James was in crisis at that time, but his actions struck me as someone who was not coping very well for the situation he was in.”
Sen Const Treanor has been stood down since the incident and will face internal disciplinary procedures. That process is expected to take about 12 months.
He also made a bullying claim against police through the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission. That matter is expected to be heard in September.
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