Australia - Officer Sentenced for Contempt
Dr. Kardasz -
Read the following report and consider:
1. Which typology of unethical behavior was exhibited by the accused?
a. Why did you choose that typology?
2. Which decision making process might have prevented the accused from making the wrong decision?
a.Why did you choose that decision making process?
Typologies of unethical behavior - http://kardasz.org/CorruptionTypologies.html
Decision making processes - http://kardasz.org/Decision_Making_Tools.html
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ex-cop may serve PIC sentence at home
From the age.com.au, September 25, 2006
The first person to be convicted of contempt of the NSW Police Integrity Commission (PIC) may serve his six-month sentence in home detention. Former police officer Christopher John Walker was sentenced in the NSW Supreme Court to six months in jail. But Justice Robert McDougall stayed the term, releasing Walker on bail while authorities assess his suitability for home detention.
Questioned at a PIC hearing in December 2004, Walker - a one-time work partner of corrupt former police officer Christopher Laycock - falsely claimed he could not recall events.
The PIC was investigating possible criminal conduct by Laycock and his associates, and Walker was questioned about allegations that he had gone to premises in Chiswick to extort money from drug dealers. Walker had "falsely asserted an inability to recollect that event", Justice McDougall said.
After he was warned he could face a contempt charge, Walker returned to the PIC in January 2005 to answer questions about the Chiswick incident. His account was that he had been retained by drug dealers to obtain money owed for the sale of illegal drugs, the Supreme Court was told. The 57-year-old is the first person to be convicted of contempt of the PIC, for which there is no maximum specified jail term.
Justice McDougall said Walker's offence "had the capacity to frustrate an investigation into what was by any standards serious police misconduct, involving in all likelihood both serious criminal activity on the part of some police officers and the covering up or protection of serious criminal activity". "Corruption and misconduct strike at the effectiveness of any police force," the judge said, adding that nothing less than a substantial jail term would deter others from committing contempt.
Justice McDougall imposed a sentence of six months, saying it would have been longer had Walker not returned to answer the PIC's questions. He also took into account the fact that the former detective would likely serve any jail term in protective custody, and concerns that he would not receive adequate treatment for his depression and possible bipolar disorder behind bars.
Justice McDougall said the offence and the circumstances surrounding it reflected badly on a man who was otherwise "of good character, highly regarded by friends and colleagues, and with strong family connections and values". Walker had received a Commissioner's Commendation and an award as "the most outstanding policeman" in 1976, and at one time had quit his job because he was "dismayed by corruption in the police force", he said.
Walker, who worked as a Sydney police officer on and off for more than 30 years, will learn his fate when the case returns to court on November 8.
Retrieved September 28, 2006 from http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Excop-may-serve-PIC-sentence-at-home/2006/09/25/1159036449789.html#