A Queensland police officer accused of inappropriate behaviour by four female colleagues over 15 years – including one case that resulted in a $1m-plus payout – is being investigated over a claim he stalked a female officer.
Guardian Australia understands that last month the male officer was issued with a notice barring him from attending a remote police “beat” after a female senior constable made allegations of stalking and harassment.
The complaint includes claims the man surveilled his colleague while she ran personal errands.
The beat doubles as a local station and a residence for the female senior constable. The male officer lives in separate police housing nearby.
Both officers – the only police stationed in the local community – are now on sick leave.
After the female senior constable made allegations, in July the Queensland police service replaced all of the CCTV cameras at the police beat and issued the female officer with a new work phone.
It is understood this was due to concern that her male colleague had work-issued access to the cameras and to the phone’s “find my phone” app.
The QPS has confirmed that the fresh allegations about the man were subject to an ongoing investigation but would not comment further.
A spokesperson would not say whether the allegations were being treated as potential criminal conduct or as internal disciplinary matters. The complaints are allegations and have not been substantiated.
Guardian Australia has confirmed that the male officer has been subject to at least four other complaints from female colleagues, including one resulting in a $1.1m lawsuit that was settled out of court.
The Queensland police service has paid a settlement to a female former officer who alleged in court documents that the QPS had breached its duty of care by making her work alongside the male officer when they had knowledge of his “prior conduct”.
Supreme court documents show that a former senior constable sued the QPS for negligence and breach of contract, including claiming that her employer “knew or ought to have known” about the officer’s prior behaviour.
The court documents detail allegations the male officer bullied a female senior constable, “leading to her becoming unwell and taking stress leave”. The QPS admitted it investigated allegations but that they were “unsubstantiated”.
Court documents also detail allegations that the male officer “sexually harassed” a female constable, “including by sending her text messages of a sexual nature and turning up at her house unannounced”. The QPS defence said an investigation into these complaints was “not completed” because the complainant had medically retired.
Other examples of the officer’s “prior conduct” detailed in the court documents include claims he became so aggressive at a station barbecue he had to be restrained with handcuffs; that he described another officer as a “dog fingerer”; and that he was at times paranoid, aggressive and sarcastic. The QPS filed a defence rejecting these events took place.
The female senior constable who sued the QPS claimed in the court documents she suffered psychological injuries as a result of the man’s conduct while they were partnered together. She claims she fled his police car three separate times on the same shift, and ran into a station because she “feared for her safety”.
The senior constable alleged she suffered an adjustment disorder, including anxiety and depression, as a result of the encounters.
Her claim alleged the Queensland police service knew, or should have known, about the male officer’s behaviour, and that her employer had breached its duty of care by “failing to provide and maintain a safe system of work”.
She claimed the QPS breached its contractual duty by failing to counsel, investigate, discipline and sack the male officer; by failing to warn her about his past conduct; and by partnering her with him.
The QPS rejected and denied the senior constable’s claims in relation to the man’s conduct when they worked together. It admitted receiving complaints about the male officer before that time but that these were all investigated and the officer had been “counselled, managed or disciplined … in relation to complaints received which were substantiated”.
The civil case was discontinued after it settled out of court, without the QPS making any admissions.
Guardian Australia understands another formal complaint – separate from the new stalking allegations under investigation – was lodged by a female officer, who has since retired, relating to the man’s behaviour towards her at the remote police beat in 2023.
The QPS did not address questions about whether it was appropriate the male officer was allowed to work at a remote station alongside a female colleague given past allegations against him, and what measures it had taken to manage risk to its employees in the workplace.
A QPS spokesperson said: “The Queensland Police Service is unable to provide any further comment while investigations by the Ethical Standards Command into some of the allegations are still open and ongoing.”
