Australian police can do no wrong

The usual farce of police investigating one-another. An innocent woman was shot for no good reason by a panicky dickless tracy and the police are going to cover up for their dickless tracy until hell freezes over. She is not fit for police work and should be removed

A woman shot by police has accused investigators of a cover-up after the junior officer involved was cleared without a written report. Susan Bandera, 48, was critically injured when she was shot twice by police responding to a dispute at a North Parramatta unit block on December 21. She is alleged to have lunged at officers with what was initially thought to be a knife but later found to be a fork.

At the time, NSW Police Deputy Commissioner for Operations Denis Clifford said he was satisfied by an initial report from the critical incident team, which said the policewoman "acted appropriately" when she fired her weapon at Ms Bandera. "It is important to note that this interim report centred only on the actions of the police officer in the discharge of her firearm," Mr Clifford said on January 2. "The exact circumstances of the earlier confrontation are still being investigated and will be the subject of a further report."

But, after a freedom of information request to NSW Police, The Sun-Herald has learnt "neither an interim report document nor a final report document" exist. Instead, the junior officer was cleared based on two "verbal briefings" between Mr Clifford and the investigation manager from Gladesville Police in the days following the shooting.

Ms Bandera, who is waiting for her shattered spine to heal around the bullet fragments, which doctors deemed too dangerous to remove, said the police were "a law unto themselves". "It's changed my life," she said. "I want [the officer] to be charged just like everybody else and I don't think she should work for the police force any more. My kids nearly ended up with no mother." Ms Bandera said she had not been contacted by police since early January and her legal team had trouble obtaining documents.

"I want the truth to come out, which is that I was being attacked and police shot me," she said.

Sonni Michael Angelo, 23, who was arguing with Ms Bandera before police arrived - but denies attacking her - said there was no need for the officer to shoot Ms Bandera after the pair were sprayed with capsicum spray.

A police spokesperson said it was common to use "a number of methods, including verbal" to deliver the findings of an interim investigation. No one has yet been charged over the incident. Police said there would be a final report when the investigation was complete.

Original report here. (Via Australian Politics)



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