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Somehow this must be a League thing. Maybe its Masons fault.
Link: http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegrap...001021,00.html
End culture of thin booze line, drunk NSW police
Exclusive by Joe Hildebrand
July 09, 2009 12:00am
A CULTURE of excessive boozing by police has been dragged into the spotlight after a group of drunken officers roughed up a disabled man and set fire to his bag.
The officer at the centre of the incident claimed he was the victim of a police drinking culture that began as a cadet at Goulburn Academy and continued right up until his dismissal last year - when he was drinking four cases of beer a week.
Now the issue has gone right to the top, with NSW Industrial Court Justice Frank Marks asking Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione to consider an inquiry into drinking within the force.
He said he wanted the claims "brought to the personal attention of the commissioner for consideration as to whether they merit investigation as to the current culture of the academy and the police force".
Ex-sergeant Shane Hessenberger told The Daily Telegraph that, during his 15 years at Newtown, Albury and Moama stations, alcohol was often stored on the premises.
He said he and other officers drank heavily on and off duty and by the end of his career he would often drive around by himself in a patrol car drinking a stubbie.
The drinking problem came to light when Mr Hessenberger was dismissed after using improper force to remove a mentally disabled man from a bus - then a second officer threw his bag on a fire and the whole group attempted to cover up the incident.
Mr Hessenberger had been drinking outside Moama police station at his own going-away party in 2006 when he was approached by a bus driver who was having difficulty getting the man off the bus.
Intoxicated and not in uniform, Mr Hessenberger made for the bus, accompanied by a senior-constable, and dragged off the man, identified only as SM.
Despite having assault charges dismissed in Wagga Wagga Local Court, Mr Scipione dismissed Mr Hessenberger last year, stating: "You used improper and inappropriate physical force on Mr SM even once you had removed him from the bus."
NSW Police have said the old-school boozy police culture was in the past.
Acting Commissioner Dave Owens told The Telegraph: "While there may have been a drinking culture 20 years ago, we are a different force these days. Any officer who drinks on duty or comes to work impaired by alcohol can expect consequences."
However the case is the latest in a string of other matters involving drunk officers behaving badly, with at least 11 alcohol-related dismissals since 2001.
Link: http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegrap...001021,00.html
End culture of thin booze line, drunk NSW police
Exclusive by Joe Hildebrand
July 09, 2009 12:00am
A CULTURE of excessive boozing by police has been dragged into the spotlight after a group of drunken officers roughed up a disabled man and set fire to his bag.
The officer at the centre of the incident claimed he was the victim of a police drinking culture that began as a cadet at Goulburn Academy and continued right up until his dismissal last year - when he was drinking four cases of beer a week.
Now the issue has gone right to the top, with NSW Industrial Court Justice Frank Marks asking Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione to consider an inquiry into drinking within the force.
He said he wanted the claims "brought to the personal attention of the commissioner for consideration as to whether they merit investigation as to the current culture of the academy and the police force".
Ex-sergeant Shane Hessenberger told The Daily Telegraph that, during his 15 years at Newtown, Albury and Moama stations, alcohol was often stored on the premises.
He said he and other officers drank heavily on and off duty and by the end of his career he would often drive around by himself in a patrol car drinking a stubbie.
The drinking problem came to light when Mr Hessenberger was dismissed after using improper force to remove a mentally disabled man from a bus - then a second officer threw his bag on a fire and the whole group attempted to cover up the incident.
Mr Hessenberger had been drinking outside Moama police station at his own going-away party in 2006 when he was approached by a bus driver who was having difficulty getting the man off the bus.
Intoxicated and not in uniform, Mr Hessenberger made for the bus, accompanied by a senior-constable, and dragged off the man, identified only as SM.
Despite having assault charges dismissed in Wagga Wagga Local Court, Mr Scipione dismissed Mr Hessenberger last year, stating: "You used improper and inappropriate physical force on Mr SM even once you had removed him from the bus."
NSW Police have said the old-school boozy police culture was in the past.
Acting Commissioner Dave Owens told The Telegraph: "While there may have been a drinking culture 20 years ago, we are a different force these days. Any officer who drinks on duty or comes to work impaired by alcohol can expect consequences."
However the case is the latest in a string of other matters involving drunk officers behaving badly, with at least 11 alcohol-related dismissals since 2001.
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