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Home / police allegations / Rickards,
Shipton, Schollum vs Jane Doe Page 1 - 2007 Trial of
Rickards, Shipton, Schollum Week 1 |
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Suspended assistant commissioner
Clint Rickards was accused of being a practised liar when he took the stand
in his defence against historic allegations of kidnap and indecent assault. Rickards and former officers Bob
Schollum and Brad Shipton all deny the charges dating from Rotorua in the
1980s. The defence argues that if the
woman was assaulted, the complainant has simply got the wrong man and it is a
case of mistaken identity. It maintains a photo showing Rickards clad in a
thigh to ankle plaster cast following major knee surgery in 1983 is proof he
could not have kidnapped and indecently assaulted a teenager in early 1984. The 47-year-old says he never met
the complainant until last year but the complainant told the court she met
Rickards several times that summer at the local Cobb and Co restaurant and
police bar. However she admitted she had no memory of him in plaster, on
crutches or even limping. Rickards says going out at the
time was a "physical impossibility". But under cross examination, he
admitted he could have been seen out without crutches with co-accused Shipton
that February. The defence called two witnesses
to explain how difficult Rickard's recovery was - one of them former All
Black and friend Steve McDowell. In contrast to the complainant's
evidence, even under cross examination Rickards was calm and completely
unflappable. But the prosecution used this against
him, drawing attention to the fact that the police officer had given evidence
in court on more than 100 occasions. Just before the alleged offence,
Rickards had completed two years working as an undercover cop in the criminal
underworld for which he was awarded the force's top honour - the golden
certificate of merit. The Crown said this meant Rickards
had to "live a lie day in day out". Rickards admitted that was
accurate in regards to the criminal fraternity. The trial will continue on Monday. |
