Allegations of Abuse
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Another
alleged rape by a police officer was a key factor in the Government's
decision to order an independent inquiry into the alleged pack rape of Louise
Nicholas. Prime
Minister Helen Clark said Judith Garrett's case was the "final
straw" when she considered the Government's response to Mrs Nicholas'
claim that she was raped by three policemen in Rotorua in 1986. Details
of Mrs Garrett's case were sent to Miss Clark after The Dominion Post
reported Mrs Nicholas' allegations. The
prime minister said the information clinched her decision to set up a
commission of inquiry to investigate not just the handling of Mrs Nicholas'
case but wider issues within the police force. "Believe
me, what was sent to me ... my hair stood on end," she said yesterday. Mrs
Garrett, 60, alleges that a Kaitaia constable handcuffed and raped her in the
town's police station in March 1988 and that the police failed to properly
investigate her complaint. In
1994 she took a private prosecution against the attorney-general, alleging a
police cover-up. But,
despite finding that the initial investigation had not been carried out
properly, a jury in the High Court at Whangarei ruled against her on the
basis that the investigating officer had not been motivated by malice. Miss
Clark said the allegations of Mrs Nicholas and Mrs Garrett raised questions
about the culture within the police as well as the conduct of individual
officers and whether the course of justice had been perverted. "The
question which is on everyone's mind is what were the prevailing standards of
police behaviour where group sex with relatively young women was not
considered a matter of concern to the employer?" The
Kaitaia documents had been forwarded to the Crown Law Office which is
drafting the terms of reference for the inquiry. Logically, the inquiry would
include some consideration of Mrs Garrett's case, Miss Clark said. Mrs
Garrett said she was shocked by the similarities between her experience and
that of Mrs Nicholas. "I
feel that the public have absolutely no idea of what happens within the
police force and they should be informed." Mrs
Garrett said her alleged assailant was dismissed from the police for
disgraceful conduct in 1988 but was never charged with rape because one of
his colleagues – who had been drinking with him on the night of the alleged
incident – mishandled the initial investigation. He
did not formally report her complaint to his superiors for three months and
failed to follow correct procedures. He was later charged under police
regulations for his after-hours drinking and neglect of duty but he retired
before the charges could be heard. "He
didn't take any notes and he didn't ask me to make a statement. He just asked
me what happened and who I had told about it," Mrs Garrett said. She
had been at the Awanui Hotel waiting for her partner to finish work when she
was introduced to her alleged attacker. He
was drinking there with another officer and asked her for a lift home. On the
way, he asked her to stop at the police station so he could pick up some
running gear. He
told her one of her car headlights was not working and, while she was
checking it, handcuffed her. Frightened, she demanded he let her go and he said
they would have to go inside the station for the key. He allegedly raped her
in a locked office. "I
couldn't believe he'd rape me – he was much younger than me," Mrs
Garrett said. She
struggled and bit the officer on the arm, and deliberately left evidence such
as fingerprints and strands of hair. Police
spokesman Jon Neilson said police were looking at Mrs Garrett's file. Hers
was the only other historical rape complaint since Mrs Nicholas' claims
became public. |
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