Bradley Turner was an experienced and committed Australian Federal Police officer when he was deployed to Papua New Guinea in 2013.
Now he’s suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, has become a whistleblower and is claiming $10 million dollars in damages from the AFP in the Federal Court.
SBS approached the AFP for comment about Turner’s Federal Court claim.
The AFP responded by saying: "The AFP does not comment on matters that are the subject of court proceedings.”
Turner was part of an AFP contingent sent to Lae, a city with an unenviable reputation as a violent crime hotspot.
It was a tough assignment for the AFP.
They were not actively involved in policing and had no powers of arrest. Their mission was to act as advisers and mentors to the local PNG police.
This meant the Australian police toured Lae’s crime ridden streets and shanty towns unarmed with no protective equipment and no powers of arrest.
Turner says he witnessed the aftermath of horrible crimes – shootings, murders, rape and the destruction of whole communities by the authorities.
He also claims that violence was perpetrated by the local police, particularly the elite Taskforce units.
Turner claims the police would frequently shoot unarmed suspects in the leg with high powered rifles in order to prevent them running away.
Turner claims that when he sought to report the violence to his superiors, it wasn’t reflected in the weekly reports sent by the Federal police in PNG to Canberra.
He says his PTSD stems not from the violence he witnessed, but a sense of powerlessness and frustration that his reporting was being ignored.
"It got to a point where we referred to the reporting coming out of the country as the 'nothing bad ever happens in PNG' reports,”says Turner.
A car riddled with bullets on teh streets of PNG. Source: SBS
Murder accusation, black market claim and disharmony in the office
His situation was exacerbated, he feels, by infighting and disharmony in the Lae AFP office.
He also had to fend off two extraordinary allegations made against him.
Despite receiving an official performance assessment as an 'outstanding' officer, Turner says one of his colleagues claimed to his superiors that he was manufacturing and selling weapons on the black market.
This serious allegation was never proven.
Turner was also accused of murder by the relatives of a man who died in police custody.
An AFP investigation found no evidence to support the claim, and Turner says he wasn’t anywhere near where the crime occurred.
Having returned to Australia, Turner is unable to work and receiving medical assistance for his PTSD.
"When I returned home, I put my hand up for help, and they [AFP} went after me hammer and tongs."
He is deeply unhappy at the way he has been treated by the AFP and determined to fight for redress.
"Professionally my career with the AFP is over, if it wasn't before speaking to you it certainly is now."
The Australian Federal Police responds
In a statement released to SBS, the AFP says it has received material from Turner detailing his concerns, but does not have the power to investigate in PNG:
"The AFP received a large amount of material from the member in both July 2015 and September 2015 relating to a number of matters during his deployment in PNG during 2013 and 2014. The AFP reviewed this material and did not identify any matters requiring further action by the AFP."
"The AFP has not received any reports from AFP members deployed to PNG alleging that they have observed Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary officers involved in murders. However, the AFP is aware of claims of this nature that have been published in social media and traditional media channels. The AFP is also aware of claims by members of the public and media outlets relating to instances of alleged misconduct by the RPNGC."
The AFP also says they raise concerns about the conduct of the PNG police with the force’s senior executive on an “as required basis”.
"The operating environment in PNG is difficult and the nature of the AFP work is extremely challenging. However, the AFP considers ongoing positive engagement with police at the frontline and an open dialogue with the RPNGC executive as the most effective way to encourage and advance progress on human rights and accountability in the RPNGC."
"We referred to the reporting coming out of the country as 'the nothing bad ever happens in PNG' reports": Bradley Turner. Source: SBS
