A dishonest high-ranking Sydney police officer who crashed an unmarked car in while drunk and fled the scene before lying about the incident has been given a deal in court.
The senior and experienced officer held a prestigious position in the NSW Police Force but cannot be identified due to a 40-year court suppression order, and in July the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC) found he was treated leniently by his commander and in a police review after the incident.
The LECC report found he consumed a “significant” number of drinks at two pubs in May 2023 before getting behind the wheel of the police vehicle and hitting a concrete barrier on the NorthConnex motorway. He then abandoned the car and later lied on an insurance claim form for the car, claiming he had fallen asleep.
He was previously charged with high-range drink-driving and pleaded not guilty, but on Friday he appeared in Downing Centre Local Court where his lawyer told the magistrate his client had agree to plead guilty to mid-range drink driving, ABC News reported.
Counsel Tim Lowe told the court a summary of evidence had been agreed upon with prosecutors, and both parties requested the magistrate allow for an “alternative verdict”.
Magistrate Rachael Wong accepted that court documents were amended by consent to reflect that a high-range blood alcohol reading was possible, and prosecutors withdrew a second charge of driving under the influence after she allowed the officer to plead guilty to the mid-range offence.
The LECC noted in its report that it “had access to the confidential material provided to the Court” in relation to the suppression order, and that the order was “understandable”.
The report found that the officer was given special treatment “in his commanding officer’s approach to interim risk management; in the conduct of a Safe Driving Panel; and in the approach taken to the issue of a media release”. NSW Police Media failed notify the public as required when an employee is charged.
However, the LECC found that although the officer was treated as any other officer or member of the public would have been while being investigated and charged, the force had suffered reputational damage and senior officers had lost confidence in the integrity of the organisation.
“From day one [at the Academy] they show you the statement of values… and point one of that statement is to place integrity above all. I’ve always tried to do that from day one of my service in the cops and its just really disappointing that the people who are the decision-makers … say one thing and do another,” a witness told the LECC.
The case will return to court in February for sentencing.
Header image credit: NSW Police
