Hero cop and Labor candidate suing bosses for compensation

Hero cop and Labor political candidate Mark Turner has taken the NT Police to court over an incident that left him injured on the job.

Mark Turner, NT Labor's candidate for Blain is suing NT Police for his medical bills. Picture GLENN CAMPBELL

HERO cop and Labor political candidate Mark Turner has taken the NT Police to court over an incident that left him injured on the job.

The 36-year-old police negotiator recently made headlines when he was preselected by Labor to take on Terry Mills in Blain at next year’s Territory election.

Senior Constable Turner has now revealed to the NT News that he is suing his employers at the NT Police, Fire and Emergency Services for workers’ compensation.

“In 2014 I ruptured a tendon while making an arrest,” he said.

“I spent several years and multiple surgeries getting the tendon replaced so I could get as much use as possible out of my left hand moving forward.”

He asked his employers to compensate him for the medical costs and said the matter was now being dealt with in court pursuant to the Return to Work Act.

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His case against NT Police was mentioned in Darwin Local Court yesterday, where the matter was adjourned until March 30, 2020.

A spokesman from NT Police refused to explain why Mr Turner’s compensation claims were being disputed.

“Matters such as these are between an employee and their employer,” he said.

NT Police Association president Paul McCue said he was also aware of the dispute.

“As it’s still an ongoing court matter we can’t say much at this stage other than that we support all our members while dealing with workplace health and safety incidents,” he said.

Senior Constable Turner and his colleague Sen-Constable Linda Farrand were given National Bravery Awards from the Police Federation of Australia in September.

The pair were honoured for their role in saving the life of a man threatening to jump off a cliff at the Darwin Esplanade in June.

At 3am, after a seven-hour negotiation, the man turned and ran towards the cliff after briefly being coaxed to safety.

Sen-Constable Turner grabbed him before he could jump over the ledge.

The Palmerston father of five has been in the police service for almost two decades.