Five police officers are suing former chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold and the ACT government for $1.415 million, saying he accused them of "acting disgracefully".
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The officers claim Mr Drumgold defamed them in a letter The Guardian published in December 2022.
According to the officers, the letter defamed them by accusing them of:
- Bullying Brittany Higgins
- Pressuring Mr Drumgold not to charge Bruce Lehrmann
- Trying to mislead Mr Drumgold about the strength of the case against Mr Lehrmann
- Aligning themselves with Mr Lehrmann's interests due to political pressure
- Assisting Mr Lehrmann's defence team during the criminal trial
- Inappropriately interfering with Mr Drumgold's prosecution of Mr Lehrmann over an 18-month period
Mr Drumgold sent the letter to then ACT chief police officer Neil Gaughan on November 1, 2022.
The Guardian obtained the letter after submitting a freedom of information request.
The police officers allege Mr Drumgold told a journalist about the letter, and facilitated the FOI process. Each officer who is suing was named.
Mr Drumgold has previously apologised for initially allowing the letter to be emailed without consulting police, or redacting the names.
In the letter, Mr Drumgold raised concerns about the conduct of ACT police during the investigation and trial of Bruce Lehrmann.
Mr Lehrmann was accused of raping Ms Higgins at Parliament House in 2019. The criminal trial was aborted due to juror misconduct.
A separate civil trial found, on the balance of probabilities, that Mr Lehrmann did rape Ms Higgins, although he no longer faces criminal charges.
"I write to raise serious concerns I hold with what I perceive as some quite clear investigator interference in the criminal justice process regarding Lehrmann's trial," Mr Drumgold wrote.
"I am of the view that at the conclusion of the trial, there should be a public enquiry into both political and police conduct in this matter."
The police officers claim Mr Drumgold accused them of "acting disgracefully" before and during the criminal trial.
Detective Inspector Marcus Boorman is suing Mr Drumgold for $415,000, according to a statement of claim published by the Federal Court of Australia on Wednesday.
Detective Superintendent Scott Moller is suing for $350,000, Commander Michael Chew for $250,000, Senior Constable Emma Frizzell for $250,000 and Detective Senior Constable Trent Madders for $150,000.
The police officers said the letter "went to the heart of [their roles] and standing as a police officer".
They said it caused serious harm to their reputations, honour, self respect and esteem within the Australian Federal Police community and caused economic loss.
They said the letter was behind the ACT government's decision to establish an inquiry into how the Parliament house rape case was handled.
That inquiry by Walter Sofronoff found that ACT police officers "accomplished a thorough investigation [but] made some mistakes".
He said none of the mistakes affected the substance of the investigation and or prejudiced the case.
Separately, Mr Sofronoff is now being investigated by the ACT integrity commission over his decision to leak the board of inquiry report to journalists.
Lanie Tindale
I am City reporter at The Canberra Times. I previously covered health for the masthead, and was a trainee before that. I have written on courts, federal politics, breaking news, features and opinion. lanie.tindale@canberratimes.com.au.
I am City reporter at The Canberra Times. I previously covered health for the masthead, and was a trainee before that. I have written on courts, federal politics, breaking news, features and opinion. lanie.tindale@canberratimes.com.au.
