Federal Police have denied claims the son of Commissioner Tony Negus was given special treatment when he was allowed to graduate from the Australian Federal Police College while injured and under investigation for a motorcycle crash.
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Mitchell Negus was admitted to hospital after the bike crash, which occurred as he trained to become an ACT police officer at the AFP College in Barton late last year.
He became the subject of an internal AFP inquiry and an investigation by local police looking at speeding in the crash.
His father sat in on his post-accident interview with local officers, something said to have been done ''as his father''.
Despite the investigations and his injuries, Mitchell Negus was allowed to complete his training and graduate from the college in December, before being placed on ''light duties'' at a station. His injuries prevented him from commencing active duty during the five-week period he lasted in ACT Policing before quitting.
One police source said other recruits in that situation would nearly always have been back-squadded, or held back and put on a subsequent training course.
''Leading up to the graduation, if there was any question, generally people are held back,'' the source said. ''I can't think in recent history of anyone who has graduated with an injury, I can't think of anyone
who has gone to a station or office on light duties.''
The officer said the mere knowledge it was the commissioner's son would have weighed heavily in the decision to allow him to graduate.
''There might not be the commissioner's directive to get him graduated, but also you can't not let the commissioner's son graduate.''
But the AFP has denied Mitchell Negus was granted special treatment, saying proper process was followed.
A spokeswoman said he had completed all training and met the force's competency and qualification requirements by the time of his attestation ceremony.
She said it was not unique for a recruit to graduate while the subject of a police investigation.
The AFP said Mitchell Negus was the third recruit injured but allowed to continue training and then graduate last year.
His injuries were described as temporary, with only a short to medium recovery period.
Before the crash, Mitchell Negus had completed everything but a written assessment, which was successfully completed before graduation. He was also reassessed on a ''command, control and co-ordination'' test before his graduation. The spokeswoman said AFP Learning and Development had spoken with local police about the crash to assure itself it did not preclude him from signing up.
But a second police source, speaking anonymously, said there were numerous examples of recruits being taken off course because of much less serious injuries than those suffered by Mitchell Negus.
The source said one recruit was recently back-squadded for a torn ligament, despite being cleared to continue training by doctors.
Mitchell Negus worked as an AFP protective service officer before joining ACT Policing. He graduated in early December with a group of 42 other officers from two classes.
