Cop in limbo over pursuit of truth on Bourke Street rampage
A retired police officer who made attempts to corner and capture James Gargasoulas before the Bourke Street massacre remains at loggerheads with Victoria Police on the eve of the coronial inquest.
Law & Order
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The police officer who tried to have James Gargasoulas captured before he went on his murderous rampage in Bourke St is still in “limbo’’ on the eve of the Coronial Inquest.
Frank Caridi, who tried to get the highly trained Critical Incident Response Team to arrest Gargasoulas in the early hours of January 20, 2017, says Victoria Police will pay his legal bills only if he goes with lawyers on its preferred list.
Mr Caridi believes that it is an attempt to manipulate his evidence, which he has told his superiors will be highly critical of the police response to Gargasoulas the day he murdered six people, injuring 27 others.
Mr Caridi has been at loggerheads with Victoria Police for months, which has left him in a “legal limbo’’ and is considering taking the force to the Supreme Court or the Legal Services Commissioner to settle the issue.
The former sergeant, who resigned after the rampage, says he wants to tell the truth at the inquest about what happened in the lead-up to the tragedy.
He wants independent lawyers to guide him through the Coronial Inquest.
“During my 29-year career on occasion I’ve heard the phrase, ‘I pay my taxes and my taxes pay for your wage,’’’ Mr Caridi writes in an open letter.
“The fact is, this comment is absolutely accurate.
“And as taxpayers, people underestimate the power they have.
“Hopefully, at the end of this inquest, taxpayers might ask themselves: ‘Am I happy with the protection and the service being provided that my taxes pay for?’’’
Victoria Police is bound to pay for Mr Caridi’s fees to be legally represented at the Coronial Inquest, but can direct him towards the panel of lawyers they use on an ongoing basis.
Mr Caridi says he told Victoria Police that, since he was going to criticise the force, he wanted to choose a lawyer outside those on its “list’’ to avoid a conflict of interest.
Mr Caridi arrived at the Raleigh St, Windsor, home of Gargasoulas’s mother in the early hours of January 20.
His brother Angelo had been stabbed multiple times by Gargasoulas and was thought to be fatally wounded. Afterwards, covered in blood, Gargasoulas told his friend to watch that night’s news because he would be on it.
Police pursued Gargasoulas — and lost him — as he drove through South Melbourne, Yarraville and inner-city Melbourne in a red Commodore later that morning. Pursuing officers were refused permission to stop Gargasoulas on several occasions.
Earlier, according to Mr Caridi, the CIRT team refused his request to engage in an arrest plan that would have minimised the risk of a pursuit. He said opportunities to arrest Gargasoulas while parked in St Kilda and after his phone was traced to the Carnegie area were missed.
Police pursuit policies are expected to be examined in exhaustive detail at the inquest.
“We were a team,” Mr Caridi told the Herald Sun.
“It was our responsibility to do something about it. How much more serious does it have to be than trying to murder your own brother?”
The force has since rejected any argument to go outside those law firms on its panel, even directing Mr Caridi to lawyers that have represented Critical Incident Response Team members, the very unit Mr Caridi wants to criticise.
The sticking point may be that Mr Caridi has engaged Robinson Gill, who has regularly litigated against Victoria Police, to act for him.
Victoria Police has since steadfastly refused to fund Mr Caridi’s legal fees unless he chooses one of their preferred law firms, arguing no such conflict exists.
In letters, seen by the Herald Sun, Victoria Police has also rejected a ruling given by the Law Institute of Victoria’s Ethics Committee, which has determined that Mr Caridi should have independent legal advice.
The Law Institute of Victoria’s ethics committee ruled: “None of the law firms who are acting or have acted for Victoria Police … should act for Mr Caridi in the coronial proceedings as it would not be in the interests of the administration of justice.’’
They highlighted that each firm Mr Caridi was sent to had a contract with the government, and by extension the police, and would work for them on an ongoing basis, thus creating a conflict of interest. Victoria Police, however, has dismissed the ruling and refused to budge.
It has even threatened to seek costs if this issue is taken to the Supreme Court
Mr Caridi said he chose to retire after the Bourke St massacre because of the effect the incident, and the failings leading up to it, had on him.
BOURKE ST RAMPAGE VICTIMS
FRANK CARIDI’S OPEN LETTER
I became a policeman to help people. During my 29-year career, I felt that the safety of others was as much my responsibility as the organisation I worked for.
Unfortunately, due to my part in the lead-up to the Bourke St incident, that rationale dissipated and the motivation to do that job soured.
On the night of the incident, after expressing my dissatisfaction in the way it was managed, I found something interesting happened … Nothing.
Defensive walls of silence appeared and the topic of Bourke St was avoided. No one wanted to speak about what went wrong and how it could have been avoided.
There was no debrief, no open inquiries, nothing.
The first I’d heard of an inquiry was six months later when I was asked to make a statement for the Coronial Inquest. When I sent my statement in the only response I received was “thank you for your email”.
Two years later, and after a hurdle or two, I finally received confirmation that I would be giving evidence at the inquest. This was my opportunity to provide an accurate account of my involvement. It was an opportunity to highlight some of the failings and to ensure that the flaws were identified and fixed to prevent this type of incident ever happening again.
In late August this year, I received a letter from Victoria Police that I was entitled to legal funding.
I was aware that Victoria Police use a pool of law firms. So, in fairness, I advised them that my evidence would be critical of Victoria Police and therefore, to avoid a conflict of interest, I would not accept any of their preferred law firms.
Regardless, I was sent to firms on the “list”.
Rather than continue in wasting time, I took the initiative and nominated my own independent lawyers.
Victoria Police’s response was effectively: “Either you use one of OUR law firms or you will have to fund this yourself.’’
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I’ve read the inquest brief and the internal inquiry report. Reading between the lines, it has become abundantly evident that there is a concerted effort in avoiding liability to protect the reputation of the police force.
I’ve often heard the phrase, “I pay my taxes and my taxes pay your wages.”
At the end of the coronial inquest, taxpayers might ask themselves: “Am I happy with the protection and the service being provided that my taxes pay for?”
Maybe something to consider next time you vote.