Officer charged, dozens disciplined over alleged leak of Dani Laidley image - The Age

Victoria Police have charged an officer with misconduct in public office over the alleged circulation of a photograph of former AFL coach Dani Laidley inside a police station, which was then leaked and widely shared on social media.

Detective Leading Senior Constable Murray Gentner was also charged on Wednesday with unauthorised access of police information and four counts of unauthorised disclosure of
police information.

Detective Leading Senior Constable Murray Gentner arrives at court last year to give evidence in the Bourke Street inquest.Credit:Joe Armao

Leading Senior Constable Gentner, who was the subject of recent criticism during the coronial findings into the Bourke Street tragedy, has been suspended and will face the Melbourne Magistrates Court on March 30 next year.

Sources with knowledge of the investigation said police have recently referred several other criminal briefs to the Office of Public Prosecutions, with further charges expected to be laid over the next month.

A Victoria Police statement confirmed that two other officers and one custody officer remain suspended and face potential criminal action.

Last month, Ms Laidley pleaded guilty to stalking, but was spared further time in custody after repeatedly calling a woman and sitting in a car outside her home. The 53-year-old former North Melbourne coach and player, who has undergone a gender transition, was put on an adjourned undertaking to be of good behaviour for 18 months but avoided a conviction, fine and more prison time.

Ms Laidley was arrested on May 3 and within hours her mugshot was shared broadly on social media, along with a photograph taken inside the police station – shot through the glass wall of an interview room – which showed her being questioned by two uniformed officers.

The seven-month investigation into the circulation of the images has also resulted in 39 officers and seven public servants facing internal disciplinary action.

Dani Laidley.Credit:Nine News

A further 224 employees of Victoria Police have been cleared of any criminal or internal disciplinary action, according to a Victoria Police statement

Robinson Gill lawyer Jeremy King, who is acting for Ms Laidley, said the "disgraceful incident" should never have occurred.

"This has had a huge impact on Dani and her family. We welcome Victoria Police taking action to stop what appears to be a systemic problem within the force regarding breaches of confidential information," Mr King told The Age.

According to police sources, the two images circulated on WhatsApp that had been taken by different officers.

Messages were also sent which described sensitive images viewed on Ms Laidley's phone without her consent.

At the time, Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said he was disgusted by the behaviour of the officers involved.

"It's unacceptable conduct, it's appalling conduct and that type of conduct has no place in our organisation.

"This is one of the most appalling breaches and I cannot recall a breach of someone's privacy like this," Mr Patton said.

Police Minister Lisa Neville also weighed in, describing the incident as a "completely unacceptable breach of privacy".

"I can't understand how people can't believe that's not going to get distributed to anyone, those sort of photos. It was an idiotic thing to do, unacceptable thing to do," Ms Neville said.

Senior Detective Gentner was recently criticised by Coroner Jacqui Hawkins over his attempts to negotiate with James Gargasoulas' in the hours before his deadly rampage down Bourke Street in 2017.

He had attempted to persuade Gargasoulas to end the pursuit via a series of phone calls and SMS messages.

"The strategy never had a chance to succeed," she said. "How could it when the person they were trying to negotiate with was a ... delusional offender fixated on taunting police?," Coroner Hawkins said last month.

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2020-12-02 04:34:00Z
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