Canberra Raiders boss Don Furner has blasted both ACT Policing and the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for not only wasting taxpayers' money, but also embarrassing Jack Wighton, Latrell Mitchell and Canberra.
In an ironic twist, Furner also called on prosecutor Sam Bargwanna to apologise to both the NRL stars after charges were dismissed on Wednesday morning - after Bargwanna had called on both players to apologise in the lead-up to the hearing.
The Raiders chief executive revealed he personally contacted ACT Chief Police Officer Neil Gaughan in an attempt to convince him to drop the charges having seen that the CCTV footage didn't match the police officers' statements.
Furner didn't hold back when asked about the result outside of the ACT Magistrates Court.
His comments came after Sergeant David Power admitted in court on Tuesday that his statement - which was used to help charge both Wighton and Mitchell - didn't match the footage.
"We've just witnessed an extraordinary waste of the court's time and taxpayers' money," Furner said.
"This should have and could have been avoided.
"We wrote to the DPP a number of times to try and get meetings to try and ask them why this was going to go ahead.
"Mr Bargwanna ... his advice to us in one of the letters was, 'Should your client be willing to plead guilty to both charges and issue a public apology to both the responding police and the community for his conduct'.
"So I'm assuming Mr Bargwanna will give a public apology to Jack Wighton.
"I have personally called Neil Gaughan, the head of the ACT police, a number of times.
"I went and saw him, I showed him the footage and I read the police statements of facts and I said, 'I cannot see how these marry. Please tell me, am I missing something?' "
Furner went on to say how sorry he was for what both Mitchell and Wighton went through - particularly given Wighton will now leave Canberra to move to Sydney to play for the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
He warned both players could take action against the authorities.
It's believed both Wighton and Mitchell's combined legal costs could be about $150,000 - and that's without the players suing the police for damages.
That burden could now be born by the taxpayer.
"I'm still embarrassed that this is [Wighton's] last interaction in this city - he leaves to play for Souths next year," Furner said.
"It's embarrassing and I'm embarrassed for Latrell because that's his experience in Canberra and it did not have to happen.
"And even when it happened it did not have to go to trial and they were given so many chances.
"I don't think that's the last, the ACT police and the DPP will have heard of this."
ACT Policing were non-committal on whether there would be an investigation into the police officers involved.
They declined to comment on whether there would be a public apology issued to both Wighton and Mitchell.
"We note the decision by the court to dismiss this matter," an ACT Policing spokesperson said.
"We will work with the ACT DPP to review the proceedings and consider whether any internal processes and procedures need to be reviewed.
"The AFP has a robust professional standards framework that can consider officer conduct if required."
ACT Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury said there were a number of ways the NRL players could seek recourse for their treatment and he expected both Wighton and Mitchell to pursue those avenues.
He admitted he was concerned with how the case unfolded and expected the DPP will review their processes as a result.
"Given what's happened in this matter, I would expect [Wighton and Mitchell] to pursue those complaint pathways," Rattenbury said.
"I'm obviously very concerned at the way this case has been portrayed.
"We've had two high-profile individuals who have had to go through a court case which resulted in no outcome.
"That has been stressful for them, their families and the clubs they play for, and that's really disappointing to see."
ACT Police Minister Mick Gentleman also expected a review.
"I respect the decision of the court," he said.
"I have been advised that police will work with the ACT DPP to assess the proceedings and consider if any processes and procedures require review."
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