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Home / police allegations / Rickards,
Shipton, Schollum vs Jane Doe Page 6 - Further Reaction to
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Prime Minister Helen Clark today
hinted the inquiry report into police conduct - triggered by allegations of
sexual abuse by officers in Rotorua in the 1980s - will be tough reading for
the force. She said the Commission of Inquiry
into Police Conduct report would be released soon and indicated could create
a stir. "When it comes out, no doubt
there will be plenty to discuss," Miss Clark said this morning. Her comments came after Auckland
City Mayor Dick Hubbard said he does not want Clint Rickards back as district
police commander for He says Mr Rickards' standard of
behaviour is unacceptable and damages public confidence in the police. "I don't see how any
policeman could say, 'Two of my best friends are in jail for rape, and by the
way I want to be head policeman in Cleared of all charges after three
years of investigations and two trials, Mr Rickards' first words outside
court on Thursday were: "I was a police officer three years ago, and I
am a police officer today." Moments later, he said: "I'm
the district commander for But Mr Hubbard, who as the city's
senior politician has a close working relationship with the district
commander, said Mr Rickards "absolutely shouldn't" return to his
desk because public confidence had been destroyed. Mis Clark refused to comment
directly on Mr Rickards' case but said: "It's absolutely clear that
there's no way that anybody could condone the sort of behaviour those
officers were engaged in." When asked about Mr Rickards' four
promotions after police bosses became aware of some of the claims against
him, Miss Clark said: "The mind boggles." Mr Hubbard said he did not know Mr
Rickards. The mayor, who took office in October 2004, had worked with the
acting commander, Detective Superintendent Gavin Jones, because Mr Rickards
had already been stood down. "Public confidence in the
police is so hugely important," Mr Hubbard said. "And I felt that if there was
one final nail in the coffin, it was his comments about the quality of the
police investigation. It would be absolutely incompatible for a potential commander
to be making comments about the calibre of the work of staff." On Thursday, Mr Rickards attacked
the Operation Austin investigation into police sex crimes, saying it was
"an investigation I would have been ashamed to lead". He also defended his co-accused,
former policemen Brad Shipton and Bob Schollum, who were revealed as
convicted rapists after a suppression order on their jailing for the rape of
a woman in Mt Maunganui in 1989 was lifted. "They shouldn't be where they
are," Mr Rickards said. "Brad Shipton is a good friend. Bob
Schollum is a good friend. They are still good friends of mine and always
will be."
During his defence against
criminal charges relating to Louise Nicholas, Mr Rickards admitted that he
and Shipton had consensual group sex with her while the two men were police
officers in Rotorua in the 1980s. At the time, Mr Rickards lived with his
then partner and two children. Police chiefs knew since 1994 of
the Louise Nicholas allegations and his defence that it was consensual group
sex, but promoted him four times. The Weekend Herald has also
revealed that Mr Rickards had sex with a woman on the bonnet of a police car
in 1983 and this was one of the "employment issues" top officers at
police national headquarters were referring to when they refused to reinstate
him after his acquittal last week. Police regulations prohibit
disgraceful conduct tending to bring discredit to the police - a view shared
by Mr Hubbard. "Police people have
obligations to have standards and behaviour above the minimum required by the
law, " he said. "Therefore, the statement
that Mr Rickards didn't break the law is in itself not adequate. His
behaviour was unbecoming of a senior policeman." Mr Rickards' lawyer, John Haigh,
QC, said last night employment issues were a matter between Mr Rickards and
the police. He declined to comment on Mr Hubbard's statements. Yesterday the Prime Minister
expressed her distaste at the revelations which have emerged since the police
rape trials. In her first public comments since
the end of last week's trial, Helen Clark said she had been "absolutely
appalled" by what she had heard. "Like most Kiwis, I'm
absolutely appalled at what has been going on and what we're seeing reported
in our media now the suppression orders have been lifted," she said. Deputy Police Commissioner Rob
Pope said the police were moving as quickly as possible to address Mr
Rickards' employment issues. But he said they would take some
time to complete. "A bit more patience will be
required before we can put all these issues behind us," said Mr Pope. In an interview in the Sunday
Star- Times, Mr Rickards was quoted as saying he was not proud of some of the
things he had done, that he had been a bit of a "tomcat" but he was
not a rapist. "I've never used violence
against a woman ..." Mr Rickards said that days before
the Louise Nicholas story broke, he was asked by Deputy Commissioner Steve
Long to consider resigning. He was arrested at the "I was so ashamed that it had
happened to me and my family. It was the lowest day of my life. It was just
devastating. I had been a police officer for 25 years, I lock up the bad
people ... "I'm not proud of my
behaviour, but I've done nothing illegal. I did things I'm ashamed of, given
I was in a relationship and had two young kids, but I'm no rapist." Mr Rickards told the paper that
the most he was guilty of was infidelity. When he learned the allegations
would be published, he rang his former partner to tell her he had slept
around. She told him he was an
"arsehole" but "she also told me she knew I wouldn't do
anything like that [rape]." He also said the cases had
strained a relationship of 15 years with partner Tania Eden, who was in court
every day of his trials. "We've had some heated
discussions about a whole raft of things but never about whether I did
it." - with NZPA |
