Category Archives: Australian police and policing

Alleged rape victim ‘could have done a lot better’ if she had made up claims against well-connected Melbourne man, court told

Posted on by

Prosecutor tells court that ‘gaps or inconsistencies’ in the woman’s account ‘enhances her credibility’, but the defence maintains she is lying

A woman who accused a well-connected Melbourne man of rape “could have done a much better job” if she was inventing the story for money, a Melbourne court has heard.

But the accused’s lawyer has described the prosecution’s case as a “horrendous mixture” of “lies, fabrications, inconsistencies, [and] evidence that has been found to be demonstrably untrue”.

Continue reading...

Man dies after cross-border police pursuit ends in NSW northern rivers

Posted on by

Car chase began in Queensland after report of armed man on Gold Coast late on Saturday, police say

New South Wales police have declared a “critical incident” after a man died following a police pursuit in the northern rivers area, hours after the same man allegedly evaded Queensland police while armed with a gun.

The 25-year-old from Queensland was found unconscious at the wheel of a vehicle, which had driven down an embankment south of Murwillumbah, about 2am on Sunday, NSW police said.

Continue reading...

Peter Falconio murder: British expert says he has identified a ‘most likely’ burial location

Posted on by

UK police adviser in the early 2000s and global consultant in ‘no-body’ homicide cases says he has narrowed down the outback search area

• Peter Falconio murder 25 years on: new footage shows dying Australian outback killer’s refusal to reveal body’s location

The former British government expert who consulted on the search for the remains of the murdered backpacker Peter Falconio says he has now identified a “most likely” potential burial location – an abandoned racetrack only 8km from the scene of the infamous outback attack at Barrow Creek.

In July 2001, Falconio and his partner, Joanne Lees, both from Yorkshire, were ambushed and attacked by Bradley John Murdoch as they drove along a remote stretch of road in Australia’s Northern Territory, about 300km north of Alice Springs.

Continue reading...

Police release images of clothes to help identify victims of alleged Sydney childcare paedophile

Posted on by

AFP release images of children’s clothes found on electronic devices seized as part of investigation into Hamish Tait

A tiny dinosaur puffer jacket could lead police to more victims of a former childcare worker and alleged prolific child sex offender.

Federal police have released pictures of clothing from children they want to identify, urging parents and carers who recognise the items to come forward.

Continue reading...

Kash Patel gave his Australian counterpart a 3D replica gun as a gift. It was destroyed within months

Posted on by

Documents show the FBI director’s gift was ‘displayed proudly’ by the AFP before new commissioner ordered it be destroyed

When the FBI director, Kash Patel, visited the Australian federal police last year, he came bearing a gift: a 3D-printed imitation pistol that then was “displayed proudly” in the commissioner’s office.

Yet within months, shortly after Krissy Barrett became the AFP’s new commissioner last October, she ordered it to be destroyed.

Continue reading...

Child protection services contacted before four-year-old’s alleged murder as police investigate cannibalism claim

Posted on by

Police charge woman with murder after boy’s body was found in a Central Coast home on Saturday

The New South Wales department in charge of child protection received “a number of reports” about a four-year-old child before he was allegedly murdered by his mother, the minister revealed, as she announced a review into how the case was handled.

Kate Washington, the NSW minister for communities and family, announced the independent review into the child’s case on Monday afternoon, two days after police found the preschooler’s body at a home on the Central Coast.

Continue reading...

Death of Indigenous teen found on rail tracks with towel under head ‘suspicious’, NSW coroner says

Posted on by

Police initially ruled Mark Haines’ 1988 death a suicide but coroner says investigation hindered by racism and deeply flawed

The police investigation into the death of Indigenous teenager Mark Haines in northern New South Wales nearly four decades ago was hindered by racism and deeply flawed, a coroner has found.

The body of the Gomeroi teenager was discovered on train tracks outside Tamworth on the morning of 16 January 1988.

A stolen Holden Torana was found crashed nearby.

Continue reading...

Twenty-five anti-Isaac Herzog protesters to face joint trial in Sydney

Posted on by

New South Wales police commissioner Mal Lanyon is among witnesses expected to appear at the six-week trial in July next year

Twenty-five people who were charged after they protested against the visit of the Israeli president will face a six-week joint trial in July next year.

The protesters had their matters heard before Downing centre local court on Thursday after their lawyers made a successful application for the joint hearing, arguing there were common legal issues across the cases.

Continue reading...

Escaped prisoner who fled brother’s funeral believed to be in Melbourne, police say

Posted on by

Orijol Rukaj was on pallbearer duties when he evaded corrections staff – and has been on the run for the six weeks since

Police say it was a busy funeral – with about 300 people gathering at a Melbourne cemetery on Anzac Day to farewell the brother of Orijol Rukaj.

Before assuming his duties as a pallbearer, Rukaj was escorted to the Keilor East service by corrections staff. But corrections staff didn’t bring him back to prison.

Continue reading...

Hannah Thomas: NSW admits to police ‘battery and false imprisonment’ of pro-Palestine protester

Posted on by

State admits former Greens candidate entitled to damages and agrees to pay medical costs, but denies malicious prosecution and malfeasance in public office

The state of New South Wales has admitted that a police officer punched Hannah Thomas in the eye while holding a torch at a pro-Palestine protest – and it has offered to pay her medical costs.

Court documents seen by Guardian Australia reveal the state has admitted to false imprisonment and battery in its defence to a civil action launched by the former Greens candidate in October.

Continue reading...

Woman illegally strip-searched by police ‘reasonably thought’ officers would call her a liar, judge says

Posted on by

NSW seeking leave to appeal against successful class action including aggravated damages of $20,000 awarded to woman strip-searched at music festival

The woman awarded $93,000 after an illegal strip-search by NSW police thought until “just before” the trial that she would be called a liar in the proceedings by the officers who conducted the search.

This was despite the officers submitting statements 12 months before her appearance that they had no recollection of the woman or the search, a court was told on Friday.

Lawyers acting for the woman, Raya Meredith, and 6,000 music festivalgoers appeared before the NSW court of appeal on Friday in the final day of a two-day hearing where NSW is seeking leave to appeal after losing a class action over unlawful strip-searches conducted at music festivals between 2018 and 2022.

Continue reading...

Queensland police shoot pet dog after running it over as distressed residents watch on

Posted on by

Graphic videos on social media appear to show upset onlookers after police accidentally ran over animal in Mount Isa street

Confronting footage has emerged of police shooting dead a pet dog as it lay prone in the middle of a street in front of screaming onlookers, after they accidentally ran over the animal in an outback mining city.

The graphic videos, posted to social media on Sunday afternoon, appear to show one resident in distress and being led away wailing and pulling at her hair in distress as a shot rings out.

Continue reading...

Two men arrested in connection to Dezi Freeman’s movements after Porepunkah shootings

Posted on by

A 48-year-old and 35-year-old will be interviewed by police after their arrests at two separate locations in north-east Victoria

Two men have been arrested in connection to Porepunkah shooter Dezi Freeman’s months on the run after he killed two police officers.

Police on Tuesday said detectives had arrested the men – aged 48 and 35 – at two separate locations in north-east Victoria as part of Operation Summit, the investigation into Freeman’s movements after the shootings at Porepunkah.

Continue reading...

Three die in ‘horrific’ south Sydney vehicle crash after police welfare check

Posted on by

A 42-year-old fled from police before being involved in a two-vehicle crash in Sans Souci, police say

Three people have died in a crash in Sydney after a man fled from police who had been attempting to carry out a welfare check.

Police officers had been called to a property in Gymea Bay, southern Sydney, at 12.25am on Saturday. When they arrived, a 42-year-old man drove away in a white Audi, New South Wales police said.

Continue reading...

Patient allegedly attacks several nurses, police and member of the public at Sydney hospital

Posted on by

Calls for more security measures after man, 51, arrested over alleged assaults at Prince of Wales hospital

A hospital attack that left a nurse seriously injured has fuelled calls for improved safety and security after several violent incidents in emergency departments.

Police restrained a 51-year-old patient after he allegedly assaulted several nurses, police and a member of the public in a Saturday night melee at Sydney’s Prince of Wales hospital.

Continue reading...

NSW should think twice before banning ‘globalise the intifada’ after court struck down anti-protest law, legal expert says

Posted on by

Another lawyer says ruling ‘puts brakes on the Minns government’s ability to use executive power to minimise people’s rights to protest’

The Minns government should think twice before imposing an outright ban on the phrase “globalise the intifada” in the wake of a landmark finding that could limit attempts to control speech and protests, a leading constitutional expert has said.

New South Wales’ highest court ruled in favour of the Palestine Action Group and Blak Caucus on Thursday, striking down an anti-protest law introduced after the Bondi beach terror attack that gave police the power to restrict marches, including the anti-Herzog rally in February.

Continue reading...

Victoria police arrest two people as part of Dezi Freeman investigation

Posted on by

Man and woman released pending further enquiries after arrests at separate properties in state’s north-east on Saturday morning

Two people have been arrested as part of the investigation into how Porepunkah fugitive Dezi Freeman was able to survive on the run for seven months before he was shot dead on Monday.

A man and a woman were arrested at separate properties in north-east Victoria on Saturday morning around 7am, before being later released.

Continue reading...

Perth man accused of attempted terror attack at Invasion Day rally to plead mental health defence

Posted on by

Lawyers for Liam Alexander Hall say the 32-year-old is undergoing treatment in custody

Lawyers acting for Liam Alexander Hall, a 32-year-old man accused of attempting to bomb an Invasion Day rally in Perth, have foreshadowed a potential not guilty by insanity plea.

Hall was scheduled to appear before magistrate Matthew Walton via video link from Western Australia’s most secure psychiatric facility on Tuesday, but did not. Instead the case was adjourned until May.

Continue reading...

Dezi Freeman shooting live updates: Victoria police give update on Australian fugitive shot dead after months-long manhunt

Posted on by

Porepunkah fugitive, 56, had been on the run after allegedly killing two police officers in Australian alpine region in August

The chief commissioner is asked about the fact that the most recent update from police regarding Dezi Freeman indicated that they believed Freeman was dead. He is asked if that was a genuine belief or a tactic.

Bush responds:

It’s a very good question because, you know, we have to follow every avenue of inquiry and there was a lot to suggest that Freeman had taken his own life. But I can tell you standing here that our investigators – that’s why they’re professionals – keep their mind open to every possible outcome and follow every possible lead.

Continue reading...

Lawyers criticise ‘extreme’ arrest of Isaac Herzog protester after NSW police release video

Posted on by

The 42-year-old is the 26th person charged after February rally against Israeli president that led to violent clashes between police and protesters

Lawyers have raised concerns that New South Wales police used heavy-handed tactics when arresting an anti-Isaac Herzog protester this week, after eight tactical officers were sent to their home at 5am and “smashed the door open”.

The 42-year-old was the 26th person to be charged after the protest at Sydney town hall in February against the visiting Israeli president. The police response on the night of the protest is being investigated amid allegations of police brutality.

Continue reading...