Gisborne police officer Senior Sergeant Paul Cliffe facing corruption charges
A senior Gisborne police officer who was once honoured for his “distinguished” career now faces a raft of misconduct and corruption charges.
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A senior officer once honoured for his “distinguished” career is facing corruption accusations.
Senior Sergeant Paul Cliffe faced the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday charged with five offences including conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and misconduct of a public official.
Charge sheets allege the senior officer falsified a search warrant in Gisborne in June 2018.
Sen-Sgt Cliffe is also accused of twice accessing a police computer to identify an officer in a position to lie about conducting surveillance related to search warrants issued in September 2020.
Police have also charged him with covering up falsities in an affidavit signed for a search warrant.
The court heard the charges relate to the criminal investigation into ex-homicide detective Calum McCann, who was last year charged with 87 offences including conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, perjury, intimidating witnesses and creating false documents.
The alleged offences occurred between June 2018 and August 2021 while Sergeant McCann oversaw a team of officers at Gisborne Police Station.
Sgt McCann is accused of directing less senior officers to falsify affidavits that were then used to secure warrants to raid the homes of suspected drug dealers.
“Investigators have identified seven affidavits relating to 12 addresses alleged to contain some false information that were used to obtain search warrants between June 2018 and August 2020,” read a Victoria Police statement last year.
The investigation into Sgt McCann, led by the force’s internal investigations team, cast doubt over the convictions of at least six people, with 15 people contacted by police over concerns they were impacted by potentially tainted affidavits.
Sen-Sgt Cliffe has had a long career spanning international borders.
He served in the Solomon Islands with the Australian Federal Police as well as at Broadmeadows and Flemington prior to Gisborne.
In 2016, he was honoured for his “distinguished” 40+ year career at a special Parliament House event.
At the time, he spoke of how policing had become tougher over the decades, saying: “People don’t give respect, and you can get spat at and hurt at any time when you’re out on the beat. You see a lot more drugs and weapons than when I first started”.
He was also touted in the Victoria Police ‘Police Life’ magazine in 2021 as a “great example” to potential cadets considering joining the force.
Sen-Sgt Cliffe will reappear in court in May.
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