The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission has made findings of serious misconduct against three officers and recommended the NSW Police Commissioner take disciplinary action against three officers over their treatment of a 29-year-old Aboriginal man in custody.
The Commission report released Friday on Operation Pamir found the officers engaged in serious misconduct in their dealing with a vulnerable person in custody in May 2020.
One of the three officers attracted a finding of serious misconduct for putting false information to the Aboriginal man in custody during his interview, as well as inaccurate information in his statement.
The Commission also made a determination of serious misconduct against another officer after he interviewed the man even though he had been informed by the man's legal representative that the man did not wish to be interviewed.
Both interviewing officers ignored the man's requests to suspend an interview so that he could seek further legal advice, the Commission's report noted.
A third officer attracted a serious misconduct finding for failing to protect the man's rights including his right to silence with the report noting his conduct "fell far short of the proper exercise of his important duties as custody manager".
Chief Commissioner Peter Johnson SC said the findings made in the report "emphasise the importance of investigating police officers respecting the exercise of a suspect's right to silence and the custody manager in a police station fulfilling their important duties concerning a person in custody".
The Commission's investigation arose from an Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions complaint after Judge Siobhan Herbert of the NSW District Court made adverse comments about the conduct of the officers involved in the arrest, interviewing and custody management of the man.
The complaint followed the discontinuation of the prosecution against the man after Judge Herbert gave a pre-trial ruling that the man's admissions were inadmissible.
The Commission considered similar issues that led to recommendations made in its Operation Mantus Report.
Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) Principal Legal Officer Nadine Miles told National Indigenous Times "the law recognises the enormous power imbalance between police and vulnerable people in custody".
"It is extremely concerning that police officers continue to disregard these protections, including by interviewing people against their wishes," she said.
"Police are given extraordinary power and with that must come the highest standards of accountability. We welcome the finding of serious misconduct against these officers. The NSW Police Commissioner must now take appropriate action.
"This finding highlights the significance of the 2023 Law Enforcement Conduct Commission investigation, Operation Mantus, which found this was a systemic issue. We again call on the Attorney General to urgently implement the LECC's recommendation to amend regulations so that police must assist vulnerable people to obtain further legal advice if they appear to change their mind about an interview."
Between July 2018 and June 2023 the NSW government paid out $161,942,963 in civil claims against NSW Police. 1,962 claims were filed against police in NSW, of which 1,522 were settled in the same financial year.
The Commission's report into Operation Pamir can be found online.
