AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw and former NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller, who now works for PwC, have already had private communication about the PwC tax dodging scandal that is now being investigated by the federal police.
Kershaw and Fuller have a history of working together to cover-up government corruption, but more on that in a minute.
Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyer Paul Svilans filed an affidavit in his defamation case against Channel 10 and News Corp which shows further evidence of the Australian Federal Police’s conspiracy to protect Bruce Lehrmann from rape charges.
The statement differs from a set of facts tendered by police during Coco’s case last year, which saw her sentenced to 15 months in prison with a non-parole period of eight months. She has launched an appeal against the sentence.
But the doctor’s lawyer, Stewart O’Connell, has questioned whether the incident would have happened if his client wasn’t a man of obvious Indian descent.
“This is a man who is an absolute pillar of the community, and yet he was treated with appalling disrespect,” O’Connell said.
Ponganamparambile said he couldn’t understand why police didn’t investigate further before posting his photo online.
He could have been contacted using his car’s license plate, which was clear on CCTV.
“There is a much easier way rather than inflicting this much trauma to me. This should be a last resort.”
Three factions are conspiring to distort the truth over the matter of Blockade Australia (BA) activists’ recent police persecution.
Source: Blockade Australia unfairly maligned by police, media and the Left
Israeli security forces on Saturday night attacked Palestinian worshipers at Damascus Gate in Jerusalem with batons and teargas, leaving 12 Jerusalemites wounded, according to the Palestinian Red Cross.
Source: Israeli Police injure 12 Palestinians in Continued Iron Fist Crackdown on Jerusalem Ramadan Crowds
Of course, “justice system” was simply shorthand for much of what many white people unquestionably believe about their beloved country. Cops fear for their lives; Kyle Rittenhouse was just protecting small businesses; there were good people on both sides of the white supremacist march in Charlottesville; and the Capitol insurrectionists were legitimately upset over an election (unless, of course, they were Antifa in disguise). To that they might want to add: Derek Chauvin was just doing his job. But a jury decided that he wasn’t, and that verdict challenged the most dangerous and pervasive myth in America: White violence can usually be justified, especially when the perpetrator happens to be wearing a uniform.
Source: The Power of the Myths Many White People Believe About Policing—and America – Mother Jones
The Australian Federal Police have no authority to investigate an alleged crime of sexual assault that was allegedly committed in NSW. The Prime Minister must know this. If he doesn’t, he should perhaps seek advice from his Attorney General, Christian Porter, who would certainly be aware of this. Either mistakenly or deliberately the Prime Minister is not observing the “rule of law” in referring the allegations to the Federal Police. He should have referred them to the NSW Police. He should still refer them to the NSW Police if he is interested in respecting the rule of law and intends to continue to claim he is abiding by that rule. Morrison has done nothing by referring the matter to the AFP other than provide a smokescreen, and some breathing space for himself and the alleged rapist in his cabinet.
Morrison shows us again how much he despises women – » The Australian Independent Media Network
Despite the massive increase in mass murder by the right-wing in Trump’s term (ODT)
New statistics from the U.S. Crisis Monitor and the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) show that police used violence against leftwing protesters three times as often as against rightwing demonstrators
Report: Police 3X More Likely To Use Violence Against Liberal Protesters Than Far-Right | Crooks and Liars
Rather than asking whether law enforcement and vigilantes like Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse support or oppose one another, we can see them as different groups who are both performing the same function — policing society.
What’s the Difference Between Kyle Rittenhouse and the Police?
Her death, and the lack of any accountability for it, make clear the response to the slogan chanted again and again by protesters at police: “Who do you protect? Who do you serve?” The answer is very few people indeed.
Killed in a “Wellness Check”: Why Cops Shouldn’t Police Mental Health
Having already brought in some of the strictest Covid-19 restrictions in the world, Aussie police are well on their way to turning Victoria into an Orwellian surveillance state.
Land Drone Under: Cops in Melbourne are using drones to spy on citizens to make sure they don’t break lockdown rules — RT Op-ed
A new paper finds that for white Americans, socioeconomic status is a major determining factor in susceptibility to fatal police violence, while for black Americans, class is critical but not decisive. The findings underscore the need to build a movement that stands against both racist police brutality and brutal class stratification.
via We’re Learning More About the Relationships Between Race, Class, and Police Brutality
Nearly 200 appearances by vigilantes and far-right extremists have been counted at protests over the past few weeks.
via Armed Vigilantes Receive Warm Police Reception Amid Protests
Someone else Trump will without question blame. (ODT)
That brings us to the present day. On the one hand, this history doesn’t mean that the FBI or local police are currently acting as provocateurs during the current unrest. But it does mean that such activity is clearly one avenue that is open to U.S. police forces looking to undermine protests and escalate violence.
via A Short History of U.S. Law Enforcement Infiltrating Protests
Israeli police estimate that there are hundreds of thousands of illegal guns among Palestinian citizens of Israel, a community suffering from under-policing and high levels of violence. Are the guns the problem? And what can be done about it?
via ‘Israeli authorities treat gun violence in our community as an Arab problem’ | +972 Magazine
A historic Cultural and Structural connection that has lasted till today
Disability pensioner John, beaten by police officers, apparently had mental health issues. He should be thankful he did not share the fate of many other mentally ill people who have had confrontations with the police. John is still alive. Last year a report by the Australian Institute of Criminology showed that nearly half of all people shot by police had mental health problems. Being mentally ill should never be a reason for being shot, but the data suggests that it is. John, perversely, was lucky.
via Police force: Deadly record for those who are mentally ill
“That happens, certain kids get out of custody and back to offending,” he said. ”We have got a core group of offenders who we have to work on all the time,” he said.
”When they are not in custody, they are offending. That’s what can happen.”
He added that social media helped offenders to gather and organise.
”You are talking about some core offenders putting a bad name to that whole community … they just see that as the way they are going to make money and get on with life for some reason,” Mr Ashton said.
via ‘Core group’ of repeat offenders behind home invasions, top cop says
Christian Picciolini, a 44-year-old, award-winning activist from Chicago who now works to deradicalise racist extremists, says members of his former neo-Nazi gang pursued careers with police departments, joined the military, or ran for political office.
“A lot of these old skinheads and [Ku Klux] Klansmen have gone into the mainstream,” Picciolini told Fairfax Media.
via In the US, white supremacists have infiltrated police and military to get weapons training
Asked why police suspected that was the case, he said: “We know things like Inspire Magazine and some of the online publications of both al-Qaeda and ISIS can be a source of inspiration.”
“When that radicalisation occurred is the subject and real focus of the investigation,” he said.
The case highlighted “that the threat in relation to terrorism in Australia is real and ongoing”.
This sounds very much like a definitive political and irresponsible statement by the police rather than an investigative one. The trial seems to have run it’s course. If Penthouse magazines were found in Robert Doyle’s garage would that make him a predator guilty of sexual assault? Why are the police being so public and wait till Dutton and Andrew Bolt gets hold of this one? (Old Dog)
via Woman charged with terrorism after alleged ‘Islamic State’ stabbing
Even when brutality is documented, Palestinians must live with the knowledge that they are unlikely to receive truth, justice, or respect from the authorities that claim to serve them. In the wake of a video released last Thursday showing an Israeli police officer assaulting a Palestinian truck driver in East Jerusalem, Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh stated that it was “difficult to find any justification whatsoever” for the policeman’s behavior, and assured the public that the officer would be dismissed. “This is an irregular incident that has no place in the Israel Police,” he insisted. [tmwinpost] Alsheikh’s attempt to portray the…
Source: Assault on Palestinian man shows violent effects of police impunity | +972 Magazine
Victoria Police is considering flying to Rome to interview Cardinal George Pell or interview him via videolink over complaints of sexual abuse against the cardinal made by two Ballarat men.
Speaking from Rome where he is based at the Vatican, Cardinal Pell said he refused to be put to a “trial by media” and said the ABC had “no licence” to destroy his reputation.
Source: Furious George Pell demands Victoria Police investigation as ABC airs abuse claims
A mentally ill man who was shot by police at a busy Westfield forecourt was granted day release from a mental health facility despite expressing homicidal tendencies towards police.
Source: Man shot at Westfield Hornsby was given day release from mental health facility
The story of Luis Gongora, shot dead by police this week, reflects city’s twin crises and raises alarming questions about the official and witness accounts of the shooting
ATLANTA – (CT&P) – After the latest in a string of fiascos perpetrated by the DeKalb County Burglary Response Unit, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has recommended that the unit be completely revamped and manned with new personnel who are actually able to differentiate their asses from holes in the ground.
The decision was made to reorganize the unit after three officers decided to storm a dwelling near downtown Atlanta on Monday like members of Seal Team 6 attacking an Afghan village.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation officials said DeKalb County Police Department received a report of a suspicious person Monday night in a southeast Atlanta neighborhood where many of the single-story homes look similar.
“All the houses down there have roofs and front doors,” said Lieutenant Martin Chowderhead of DeKalb County’s Ass Covering Unit. “It can be very confusing.”
Three officers arrived at the residence and attempted to contact any occupants in the home. When no contact was made, the officers went to the back of the home and gained entry to it through a screened porch. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said police went through a “reportedly unlocked door.”
Upon entry, the officers encountered a dog.
Following their training as police officers, the two officers fired without hesitation at the approach of a living mammal. No thought was given that a burglarized home would probably not contain a fucking live barking dog. The animal was killed almost instantly in hail of gunfire, but the cops’ blood lust was not quite quenched.
When the owner of the home appeared to find out who had murdered his family pet, the officers let fly with another volley, shooting the innocent man in the leg and wounding one of their own in the abdomen.
In a statement, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said, “Early investigation indicates that the injured officer was likely shot accidentally by one of the other officers on the scene, who were firing wildly at anything that fucking moved.”
The injured officer, who was taken to the hospital, is in “serious but stable condition,” said Steven Fore, a DeKalb County Police spokesman. The officer “lost a lot of blood” Monday, but will likely survive to be awarded the DeKalb County Medal of Valor for Courage in the Face of Unarmed Civilians, said Cedric Alexander, DeKalb County’s public safety director.
However, GBI spokesman Scott Dutton said it was too early in the investigation to determine exactly who fired the gunshots. Dutton said he did not know whether anyone in the home was armed beside the police officers, and just because no firearms were found in the home or within a one mile radius of the site that did not mean that some crafty undocumented worker from Mexico or even a space alien could have been involved.
GBI officials said there is no evidence the residents had committed any crimes in their entire fucking lives and were watching television when the Burglary Squad swooped in on them like Force 10 from Naverone.
The homeowner, who was shot in his leg, was treated at a hospital and released. His name was not released and he declined to comment, because he intends to sue the fuck out of DeKalb County.
DeKalb County Police asked its friends at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to take over the investigation into the incident so it would appear to the public that a higher authority was actually doing something constructive to protect the citizens of DeKalb from brain-damaged, trigger happy police officers.
In a statement released Tuesday, the bureau said after the investigation is completed, “it will be turned over to the district attorney for any action the district attorney deems appropriate.”
The three officers who perpetrated the debacle, Officer Mike Dimbulb, Officer Titus Dullard, and Sergeant Billy Joe Numbnuts were reassigned to desk duty while the investigation is active.
Officer Fore told 11 Dead or Alive News that Chief Cedric Alexander originally wanted to assign the nitwits to janitorial duties for two weeks as punishment for leaving living witnesses to the giant clusterfuck. However, several mid level personnel who personally know the officers in question expressed concern that they would create an environmental disaster if given access to harsh cleaning chemicals.
The shooting happened in a neighborhood about 5 miles from downtown Atlanta, which is normally a safe area unless you happen to be an unarmed black male minding your own fucking business.
McKINNEY, Tex. — No lives were lost. The incident played out at a suburban pool party, not an urban neighborhood struggling with crime and drugs.
But perhaps it was that suburban setting that helped make the images so powerful and disturbing. Now a video of a police officer pointing a gun at teenagers in bathing suits and shoving a young black girl’s face into the ground has become the latest flash point for relations between the police and minorities.
The cellphone video taken at the community pool in Craig Ranch, a racially diverse subdivision north of Dallas, has sparked another debate over race and police tactics, with activists calling for the officer to be fired and others arguing that the blame should fall at least in part on the teenagers.
The video appears to show the officer, David Eric Casebolt, briefly waving his handgun at young partygoers who approached him as he attempted to subdue the teenage girl on Friday. The officer ultimately immobilized the girl by putting her facedown on the ground and placing his knees on her back.
Greg Conley, the chief of police in McKinney, Tex., said Sunday that a police officer had been placed on leave after video surfaced showing him pushing a girl during a pool party on Friday.
By YouTube/McKinneyVision on Publish Date June 8, 2015. Photo by YouTube/McKinneyVision.
Chief Greg Conley of the McKinney Police Department said the video prompted an internal affairs investigation and Officer Casebolt, a patrol supervisor, had been placed on administrative leave.
One adult man was arrested on charges of interfering with the duties of a police officer and evading arrest, Chief Conley said. The 14-year-old girl who was immobilized by Officer Casebolt was “temporarily detained,” but ultimately released to her parents, he said. Benét Embry, the host of an Internet-radio talk show, lives in the neighborhood and saw the party grow out of control. Mr. Embry, who is black, said that as many as 130 young people attended the party.
He said that some of them scaled the pool’s fence after being turned away from the entrance by a security guard, who eventually called the police.
“As an African-American male, of course I had a concern seeing a 14-year-old African-American female in a swimsuit on the ground,” Mr. Embry said in a phone interview on Monday. “Of course I had concerns when I saw the officer pulling a gun. That’s when I started thanking God that nobody got hurt. But I don’t believe that the officer was coming out to pick on black kids.”
McKinney, a northern suburb of Dallas with around 150,000 people, is a fast-growing, mostly middle-class enclave with deep racial and economic divisions. In 2009, according to an article in The Atlantic, the city settled a lawsuit in which it was accused of hindering the construction of affordable housing in the western part of the city, which is more white and more affluent.
The pool party took place on the west side, in a neighborhood that residents said is usually marked by friendly relations among black, white, Hispanic and Asian residents. In a statement, the Police Department said officers arrived at the pool at around 7:15 p.m. on Friday, responding to a call about a “disturbance involving multiple juveniles at the location, who do not live in the area or have permission to be there, refusing to leave.
The department, the statement added, received “several additional calls related to this incident advising that juveniles were now actively fighting.”
McKinney’s mayor, Brian Loughmiller, said in a statement that he was “disturbed and concerned by the incident.”
Outside of Police Headquarters on Monday, activists said the youths had been subjected to racial bias, and demanded that Officer Casebolt be fired. Dominique Alexander, the president of the Next Generation Action Network, a civil-rights group, said that it was an “illusion” that kids had been jumping the fence. “They had every right to be there,” he said.
After the video spread quickly online, criticism poured in from around the country. The A.C.L.U. of Texas said that it while it did not have all the facts about the party, “what we do know is that the police response, as seen on the video, appears to be a textbook case of overuse of force.”
In a video posted to YouTube on Sunday, two days after the party, an African-American teenager named Tatiana said her family was hosting a cookout for friends when a woman insulted them, prompting a 14-year-old family friend to respond. Tatiana said a white woman then told her: “you need to go back to where you’re from” and to “go back to your Section 8 home.”
Tatiana said she replied “excuse me,” –and then another white woman hit her in the face and “both women attacked” her.
Mr. Embry, the neighbor who saw the party, said that he did not see a fight involving blacks and whites.
He described a party that began with a D.J. playing music in a nearby park, but that soon grew out of control as the security guard began turning away teenagers who were not allowed in the pool area.
The video of the police response shows Officer Casebolt using profanity and shouting at teenagers as he and others officers attempt to round up some of them, and shoo others away from a chaotic scene. He appears to grab the girl in frustration when she does not leave the area.
In an interview with KDFW-TV, the girl restrained identified herself as Dajerria Becton. She told the television station that she was invited to the party and had not been involved in a fight.
Brandon Brooks, 15, who shot the video, told a TV station that Officer Casebolt did not confront him, one of the few white teenagers at the party.
“I was one of the only white people in the area when that was happening,” Mr. Brooks told the station. “You can see in part of the video where he tells us to sit down, and he kind of like skips over me and tells all my African-American friends to go sit down.”
Carey Wedler
January 14, 2015
(ANTIMEDIA) ALAMEDA COUNTY, CA-Following uproarious police brutality protests in Berkeley and the San Francisco Bay Area last month, local cops are moving to employ drones in their police work.
The departments say they will be used for hostage situations, active shooters, search and rescue operations, and disaster response. Captain Tom Madigan, a captain at the Alameda County Sheriff’s office, claimed
“Through our research we learned that a small, unmanned aircraft can support first responders in situations which would benefit from having an aerial perspective, and that by having that it could expose dangers that could otherwise not be seen.”
It is unclear what specific emergency situations Madigan is referring to, but instances of police abuse and misconduct are overwhelmingly common. For example, last month there were multiple cases of aggressive police overreach during police brutality protests. In a protest that marched from Berkeley to Oakland, two undercover California Highway Patrol officers were revealed by protesters and one drew a gun on the crowd. Oakland also has a history of police abuse.
In San Jose, there are similar long-standing injustices. In 1999, at least 100 complaints were filed with the NAACP against excessive brutality and racism by the police in one month. In 2014, the problem of harassment continued. One San Jose officer was recently cleared of any wrongdoing after he tweeted to protesters:
“Threaten me or my family and I will use my God given and law appointed right and duty to kill you. #CopsLivesMatter… By the way if anyone feels they can’t breathe or their lives matter I’ll be at the movies tonight, off duty, carrying my gun.”
Instances like these make it difficult to trust police departments with unmanned drones, especially after California Governor Jerry Brown’s veto of a bill that would have required law enforcement to obtain warrants before spying.
Joe Simitan, a supervisor in Santa Clara County (where San Jose is located), echoed similar skeptical sentiments:
“’Trust us’ isn’t going to work…For any agency or department of the government at any level to simply say ’trust us, we can be counted on not to abuse the technology’ – that’s just not going to fly.”
Nevertheless, drones in Alameda and Santa Clara were purchased last year. In the face of opposition, Alameda County spent $97,000 on two in December. The news broke just days before the Berkeley protests were heating up, and Sheriff Greg Ahern drew sharp criticisms of secrecy and privacy violations. He denied the validity of such concerns. San Jose spent $7,000 on one drone in January 2014. All three were bought without input from the communities using funds from Homeland Security.
In San Jose, city council approval is required before police can move forward. Several meetings on the topics have already been held and all three cities will need FAA approval before flying drones (San Jose police challenged this last year). All three are steadfast in their desire to incorporate their use.
In spite of the appearance of authorities attaining consent, however, many are hesitant to accept police drones. Policy Director of Technology and Civil Liberties at the ACLU Northern California, Nicole Ozer, said
“Drones are very small and they’re very invasive. They could be monitoring, recording and retaining vast amounts of information on innocent activities.”
80 law enforcement agencies were using drones in 2013, but police comprised only 5% of all drone applications submitted in 2013. 37% were submitted by “academia” with 31% by the Department of Defense. CNN recently obtained FAA permission to use drones, as well.
While police can say the drones will not be misused, the government’s track record is not to be trusted. The Patriot Act was supposed to keep people safe from terrorism, but it is now public knowledge that it is used far more commonly for drug arrests. NSA surveillance is also supposed to keep people safe, but the agency passes information on to the IRS, DEA, and local police to spy on Americans for non-terrorism “offenses.”
It is “coincidental” that police are moving to use drones as dissent against law enforcement grows nationally as well as in the Bay Area. Jesse Arreguin, a Berkeley city council member who represents the area where UC Berkeley is located, said
“Berkeley and the Bay Area have a long history of political discussion, protests and debate, and there’s
a real concern around the use of these drones under those circumstances, and the broader privacy issues.”
Given the public outcry, there is at least some hope the drone programs will be deterred.
The Sun Herald
Sunday December 13, 1992
ON August 29, 1976, police and customs agents, wearing paramilitary gear, swooped on an isolated hippie commune in thick scrub between Cairns and Cooktown.
The raid cost more than $50,000 and involved a helicopter, light aircraft and a Navy vessel.
The result was the arrest of 12 young people on drug and vagrancy charges.
But some police involved in the operation were later accused of taking part in an orgy of wanton destruction, which led to 25 charges, including arson, being laid against four officers.
The allegations opened a can of worms within the police force and thrust the then Queensland Premier, Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, into a slanging match with Church groups, civil libertarians, the State Opposition and even his own police commissioner.
The public began to wonder why such military-style planning, enormous expense and considerable State and Federal police manpower had gone into a small-time drug raid.
Queensland’s Federal Member for Leichhardt, John Gayler, who represented the Cedar Bay residents during the inquiry, claims hippies were arrested on”trumped-up” drug and vagrancy charges to cover up a blunder by Cairns police
Mr Gayler, breaking 16 years of silence, said the real target of the raid was a murderer who had escaped from Cairns watch house earlier that month.
Bernard Wilton, in his early 30s, was facing drug charges when he escaped from the lock-up through a hole in the roof.
A furore erupted within police circles when, hours later, Interpol revealed Wilton was also wanted for drug-related murders overseas.
“The police went ape when they found out they had an international murderer in their grasp – and let him escape,” Mr Gayler said.
“When police received information that Wilton was being looked after by hippies at Cedar Bay they planned the raid with Federal Police and the Navy.
“The raid had nothing to do with cannabis but the police were not going to admit their blunder.
“When they found Wilton wasn’t at the camp at all, they needed to justify such time, effort and expense.” Wilton, who was believed to have been involved in a drug-smuggling operation from Indonesia, is still wanted by Queensland police.
Former Queensland Chief Superintendent Don Becker said his investigations with Inspector Syd Atkinson into allegations of police arson and destruction of property at Cedar Bay led him to believe the raid was intended to snare drug smugglers.
“It’s possible the raid was solely intended to capture Wilton but, if so, it would make it one of the biggest fiascos I’ve ever heard of,” Mr Becker said.
“To try to capture one man – a very cunning criminal – from a helicopter is absurd. Whichever way you look at it, whether to capture Wilton or break a drug-smuggling ring, the entire operation was a fiasco.”
HIPPIES involved in the raid, and former Queensland Police Commissioner Ray Whitrod, who insisted on an inquiry into police conduct during the blitz, remember the bitter Cedar Bay affair with regret.
Former hippie Charles Gifford, who was a key witness at the Cedar Bay inquiry into police misconduct in 1977, describes the time as an “intense period of frustration and anger”.
Mr Whitrod, now living in South Australia, was then fighting for police reforms and said he was sorry the controversy “didn’t do more to raise public awareness” of the extent of police corruption during the Sir Joh era.
At the Cedar Bay inquiry, police were accused of burning huts, smashing personal belongings, destroying clothing, chopping down fruit plantations and, ironically, consuming alcohol at the site following the drug raid.
Police, in their defence, tendered evidence of squalid living conditions and described the commune’s inhabitants as “filthy, criminal hippies”.
They maintained they had done the right thing because it was “in the public interest” to burn the settlement to the ground.
Mr Gifford, however, believes the anarchic streak police displayed during the raid was fuelled by an “intense fear of people who chose to adopt an alternative lifestyle”.
He now lives with his family at Bloomfield, 10km south of Cedar Bay, and says his occasional visits to the site spark bitter feelings over the incident, the inquiry into police conduct, and the acquittal of the four police officers who faced arson charges.
“We were just harmless people living the way we wanted to,” he said.
“The raid started with a helicopter buzzing our camp, then came a troop of about 20 guys wearing paramilitary gear jogging up the beach, taking cover, then jogging up again.
“I couldn’t believe my eyes; it was just so weird. I dashed into the bush, hid, and watched.”
Mr Gifford said police trashed the camp, shot coconuts out of trees with their service revolvers and ripped out fruit and vegetable plots.
He said the most frustrating aspect, as a witness at the inquiry, was”knowing what really happened but not being able to do anything about it”.
“The police had done a great injustice and we just watched in amazement as they got away with everything,” he said.
“The stories and lies they told about us during that trial were absolute rubbish; they made it up as they went along, and they got away with it. I keep in touch with people who were involved with the raid and I think they feel pretty much the same way.”
Mr Gifford said he was living at Cedar Bay with friends in a “bush camp”arrangement at the time.
He said there “may have been a bit of smoke” (marijuana) at the camp but he had never envisaged a full-scale drug raid involving the armed forces.
“It’s pretty scary when people become so angry and resentful of others who choose to live differently. Perhaps they see it as a threat to their own way of life,” he said.
Mr Whitrod, 78, said the Cedar Bay episode was one of the most traumatic experiences of his life.
He said a great source of his angst lay in his terse relationship with the Premier, Sir Joh.
“My relationship with Joh at the time was severely strained because he felt he was acting as a perfectly reasonable person who was doing the right thing. I disagreed,” Mr Whitrod said.
“I insisted on an inquiry into the affair because I felt that police had acted improperly in destroying dwellings.
“I knew there had to be something more to the Cedar Bay business than just a drug raid but at the time I was in the dark about it.
“To my utter frustration, all police who were charged were acquitted – but then it was very difficult to get a conviction against a policeman in those days.”
Mr Whitrod said he believed Sir Joh “wasn’t acting in the best interests of Queensland” when he tried to stifle the inquiry.
“But he (Sir Joh) steadfastly believed he was acting in the best interests of the public and probably still does,” Mr Whitrod said.
“The potential for an incident like that to happen again in Queensland is certainly there. It will be only a matter of time before history repeats itself.”
Source: 
olddogthoughts 
