Former assistant commissioner Brett Guerin claims racist, misogynistic comments not his ‘true belief’
Disgraced former top cop Brett Guerin has claimed offensive comments he made under an online pseudonym were not his “true beliefs” and were made in the voice of a literary character who was a “pretentious bigot”.
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Disgraced former top cop Brett Guerin has claimed making racist and misogynistic comments under an online pseudonym was his way of coping with job stress.
The former assistant commissioner tried to distance himself from the offensive remarks that led to his resignation last year, saying they were not his “true beliefs” and were made in the voice of a literary character who was a “pretentious bigot”.
Mr Guerin became emotional as he spoke of his embarrassment while giving evidence in a Supreme Court defamation trial launched by nightclub boss Martha Tsamis.
Ms Tsamis is suing for damages over unrelated media comments made by Mr Guerin in 2014 which linked her King St club, Inflation, to drug dealing, overdoses and underage drinking.
Mr Guerin defended his labelling of the venue as a “honey pot for drug dealers”, because he believed it was true.
Barrister Timothy Sowden for Ms Tsamis, questioned Mr Guerin’s credibility and detailed derogatory online posts which surfaced last year.
Under the alias of “Vernon Demerest” from the 1970 film Airport, Mr Guerin made sexually graphic comments about former chief commissioner Christine Nixon in 2016 and separately claimed women should not be allowed to sing the national anthem, the court heard.
The former head of Professionals Standards on Thursday said he knew he had to resign after saying the “Jigaboo” — a racial slur for black people — “needs the lash”.
“That was the deal breaker,” he told the court. “I resigned because I believed I would have been a millstone (for the) police commissioner if I had stayed.”
In the witness box on Thursday, Mr Guerin acknowledged the comments were “ill judged” and destructive. He, had since sought treatment to figure out why he did it.
In the second week of the Supreme Court trial before Justice John Dixon, the court heard an internal investigation was launched by Victoria Police after Mr Guerin gave an interview to this newspaper after an application by the gambling and liquor commission to strip the nightclub of its 24-hour liquor licence.
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The investigation considered whether he had leaked information.
Mr Guerin said he was ultimately exonerated.
The application to restrict Inflation’s opening hours was dropped 12 months later “without explanation”, the court heard.
The defence is arguing Mr Guerin’s comments were true and made as fair comment.
The trial continues.