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Allegations
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A former detective
accused of covering up Louise Nicholas' allegations against police officers
has been ordered to pay $9300 after losing a personal grievance case. Former Rotorua CIB
police chief John Dewar was accused by Mrs Nicholas last year of covering up
her complaints against Clint Rickards, Bob Schollum and Brad Shipton in the
1980s. The trio have since been charged in relation to the Rotorua woman's
allegations, which they deny. The precise nature of the charges is
suppressed. Mr Dewar has been
charged with four counts of obstructing the course of justice. When Mrs Nicholas'
allegation were revealed in The Dominion Post last year, Mr Dewar was working
as the human resources manager for the Hamilton-based St John Midland
ambulance service. Mr Dewar and the service's chief executive Eddie Jackson
agreed that he should take special leave on full pay till a commission of
inquiry into police conduct, which arose from Mrs Nicholas' claims, was
completed. Though the leave was
consensual, Mr Dewar later complained to the Employment Relations Authority
over matters relating to the loss of his own employment records and workplace
restrictions imposed. Mr Dewar said he had
taken reasonable and practicable steps to resolve his employment problem
internally with St John Midland. When he felt legal
action was inevitable he confined his case to a day- and-a-half presentation
but a "Rolls- Royce" legal representation by his employers had sent
their legal costs soaring. St John Midland's
lawyer, Peter Churchman, said a Wellington law firm was hired because Mr
Dewar had already engaged the law firm usually used by the ambulance service.
Mr Churchman argued that the level of legal representation had also contained
costs and noted that Mr Dewar continued to receive his salary of around
$100,000 a year. Mr Dewar appealed to
the authority, when deciding costs, to consider that he had a young family
and was already in some debt as a result of legal bills associated with the
commission of inquiry and separate criminal proceedings over he and his wife
failing to keep their dog under control. Authority member Yvonne
Oldfield said Mr Dewar "does not face any particular hardship" and
was in a position to make an informed choice about proceeding with his
claims. But she said St John
Midland's original claim of $23,500 was "extreme" for this
particular investigation, ruling that two-thirds of that claim was more
appropriate. Mr Dewar was ordered to pay costs of $8000 and disbursements of
$1332. |
