If power corrupts, then Roger Caleb Rogerson – who died on Sunday aged 83 – proved that absolute power corrupts absolutely. The former New South Wales detective had a high IQ, epic courage, brilliant instincts for policing and a preternatural talent for manipulating people. Yet he came to embody evil at its most enigmatic for many, that most despicable figure in any civilised society: the officer sworn to serve and protect the public but who lies, cheats and murders.
“You could say I ruled by fear but that was just the reputation I acquired,” he once told me. “Truth is, I did better tricking crims into thinking that I was their mate. That was my edge. The fear fell away after a while and I ran on adrenaline. Battle and bloodshed became part and parcel of the job. For me it was never about civic duty, that ‘serve and protect’ shit. I was a cop and my job was to mix with dangerous offenders and solve underworld crime.”
