Police officers involved in the failed case against NRL stars Jack Wighton and Latrell Mitchell are being referred to an internal police investigation. But Mitchell’s lawyer has called for an independent review and says the problems go beyond this case alone.
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00:00 Case dismissed, but the fallout continues. The players had been charged with offences
00:07 including fighting in a public place over an incident while the two were celebrating
00:12 Whiten's 30th birthday at a Canberra nightclub. But Sergeant David Power, the main prosecution
00:19 witness admitted on the stand his memory of their arrest didn't match CCTV footage. It's
00:25 now been confirmed there'll be an internal police review into how they got it wrong.
00:30 I don't want to pre-empt that so I'd like to see that go through and of course the Chief
00:35 Police Officer will be making comment after that occurs.
00:39 Not good enough for Mitchell's lawyer who says the inquiry should be broader.
00:44 In circumstances like this it should be done by an external organisation, particularly
00:49 with what we're facing at the moment which appears to be a cultural issue.
00:53 In 2018 a magistrate referred David Power, who was then a senior constable, to the Chief
00:58 Police Officer over inconsistencies in his account of an arrest and CCTV footage of that
01:05 arrest. And just last year a separate magistrate was scathing of two other officers and said
01:12 they used unlawful force in the arrest of a man suspected of drink driving. But the
01:18 government is rejecting suggestions confidence in the justice system is at risk.
01:23 There's always ways to look at particular examples and if there is a need for improvement
01:30 then follow that through.
01:31 Long gone are the days of secret squirrel organisations. We should be able to have an
01:36 independent review.
01:38 The current Chief Police Officer, Neil Gagan, declined to be interviewed.
01:42 Thank you.
01:42 [BLANK_AUDIO]