Sean Harrison says his family, finances and future prospects have been destroyed because of the way ACT Corrective Services, police, and the public prosecutor's office handled a complaint against him.
The grade 1 corrections officer, who was acquitted in May after being accused of assaulting an incoming prisoner during a 2023 strip search at the Alexander Maconochie Centre (AMC), said: "Three years of this matter have devastated my life".
During the criminal trial, it was alleged Mr Harrison used a "raking" technique - where he guided the prisoner's arm to retrieve secreted drugs from his rectum - and that this use of force was unlawful.
A magistrate ruled Mr Harrison's use of force was not unlawful, further finding that the seized contraband carried "a real risk" if it was not removed at the time and that Mr Harrison would have been found responsible for every outcome that followed the strip search.
"I am grateful that the evidence ultimately prevailed in court - the last place in this process where I felt the evidence was honestly reviewed," Mr Harrison, 33, said.
"But an acquittal does not give me back the three years I have lost. It does not restore the career I built, the financial security I once had, my reputation, or the health I have sacrificed."
Mr Harrison was charged after his employer, ACT Corrective Services (ACTCS), referred the 2023 strip search to the Professional Standards Unit (PSU) for a misconduct investigation saying he had breached use of force "legislation, policy and procedure".
The PSU investigation, put on hold until police and the courts finalised Mr Harrison's case, reported its findings in May followed by the Public Sector Standards Commissioner's decision in June.
The investigation report and decision letter, seen by The Canberra Times, reveal the guiding/raking technique Mr Harrison used had been a taught, used and accepted practice within ACTCS for more than 10 years and concluded there was insufficient evidence to prove he violated use of force rules.
Mr Harrison told this masthead although he was exonerated, he was still living with the consequences of being accused.
" ... I have become too unwell to work. The legal costs and loss of income have placed enormous financial pressure on my family, and I have been forced to live in a half-built house off-grid for the past three years," Mr Harrison said, noting he was suspended multiple times while under investigation.
" ... my prospects of future employment have been seriously damaged, and my family has paid a devastating price ..."
Mr Harrison said evidence presented by ACT Policing and the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) during the criminal trial further supported the PSU's position.
Responding to questions raised by independent MLA Thomas Emerson about Mr Harrison's court case, DPP Victoria Engel SC said evidence heard in court was that while the raking technique was never included in any formal training or written policy endorsed by the ACT Corrective Services commissioner, some officers said it was shown and taught "in an informal training capacity".
In court, while some officers said prisoners would not be touched during a strip search and would be isolated if contraband was detected, Ms Engel said one corrections officer stated the raking technique was used on "numerous instances", and another stated the practice was seen as "standard operating procedure".
Mr Harrison said the three-year ordeal represented either profound incompetence or a serious failure of integrity across ACTCS, ACT Policing, and the DPP.
The Darkinjung man said he joined ACTCS in 2018 because it actively encouraged First Nations people to apply, and because of his own experience visiting a parent at the AMC.
This masthead contacted ACTCS, the DPP, police and the corresponding ministers for comment. An ACTCS spokeswoman responded stating the agency could not comment because employment and personal information was protected by the Information Privacy Act 2014.
The PSU reviewed muted CCTV footage, search protocols, staff interviews, and an internal Use of Force committee review (made up of senior ACTCS members) in 2023, which "appeared to have minimal issue with the incident", saying the technique was bad practice despite the vague searching policy.
The report found it was "procedurally unfair" that ACTCS had only referred Mr Harrison's matter to PSU for investigation when multiple corrections officers had openly admitted to using the technique (in good faith) during detainee searches.
The report highlighted factors such as the court dismissing Mr Harrison's assault charge, senior officers' positive remarks about his professionalism, that he had undergone use of force refresher training three months before the incident, and that senior officers present during the search had a duty to stop Mr Harrison if his technique was wrong.
It concluded Mr Harrison did the search in "good faith", used a technique taught during formal training, and had not breached any rules regardless of the fact that the technique was not written into any Use of Force policy or procedure.
The PSU found it was unreasonable for Mr Harrison, as a junior officer, to be held responsible for the absence of or "erroneous" formal use of force training he was provided.
The report also said the Justice and Community Safety Directorate "are well aware of the apparent lack of formal guidance" and had instructed staff to stop using the practice after the 2023 incident.
Mr Harrison said the incident's fallout extended to his supervisor, a field training officer, who provided evidence confirming the search technique was a taught practice.
The supervisor said he faced allegations in response to a search he referenced as evidence but those allegations were dropped 11 months later without explanation.
Mr Harrison and his supervisor allege they were told, under threat of termination, not to speak publicly about the matter.
During estimates committee hearings last month, Mr Emerson asked ACTCS Commissioner Leanne Close and former Corrections Minister Dr Marisa Paterson about officer training and whether Mr Harrison faced disciplinary action.
Commissioner Close said the search technique was not endorsed and "became a practice" among some officers. She also said she was unsure whether the PSU's investigation of Mr Harrison was complete.
Incumbent Corrections Minister Caitlin Tough later revealed the Justice and Community Safety Directorate knew about the completed investigation in June but could not reveal the outcome for legal reasons.
It was also said ACTCS' training and development unit was not aware of the raking technique "ever being taught to staff".
In an explosive right of reply statement to the estimates committee, Mr Harrison alleged Commissioner Close had misled them about his PSU investigation and that ACTCS misled police by failing to disclose how widely the search technique was practiced across the jail.
Mr Harrison also alleged senior staff handed him an admission statement to settle the matter without investigation in 2023 when he was told: "I wouldn't get lawyers involved until the end of the matter ... lawyers are expensive."
ACTCS and Commissioner Close did not respond to these allegations when contacted.
"I don't know exactly what's happened here, but it certainly seems like a junior correctional officer may have been scapegoated so ACT Corrective Services can avoid taking responsibility for allowing this use of force to become common practice," Mr Emerson told this masthead.
The member for Kurrajong said it was seriously alarming that either the ACT government had no idea what was going on in the AMC, or was lying about it, and that this warranted thorough explanation.
He said providing evasive answers to direct questions and selectively disclosing information "to craft a particular narrative" was completely unacceptable.
"Privacy protections need to be balanced appropriately with accountability and transparency in the public interest," Mr Emerson said.
