Police Evidence goes ‘missing’

Alt Tv/Fleet FM Breakfast News
Police Evidence goes ‘missing’
A police notebook containing crucial first-interview evidence of a woman's alleged sexual abuse at the hands of three Rotorua police disappeared just after its contents were discussed with a senior detective accused of covering up for the trio, a jury heard yesterday. Former police inspector Raymond Sutton told the High Court at Hamilton that he spoke with Louise Nicholas in 1993 - at the request of her father - about two incidents of sexual abuse against her. Mrs Nicholas told Mr Sutton - then a relieving senior sergeant - about being sexually abused by a former police officer at Murupara in the early 1980s, then spoke of sexual abuse at the hands of Rotorua officers Clint Rickards, Brad Shipton and Bob Schollum (two of whom are currently in prison on gang rape charges – is this what they meant by ‘get better work stories’). When Sutton was told to hand over the case to CIB chief John Dewar, the notebook was suddenly lost and the last time Sutton can recall having seen it was when he was meeting with Dewar, briefing him on the case. So this evidence goes missing the moment Dewar was briefed on the case, that’s …. interesting. The case that John Dewar attempted to defeat the course of justice continues today, I’ve said it once, gosh darn it, I’ll say it again – we need an independent Police complaints authority because relying on the cops to investigate other cops just doesn’t make much sense.