Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll stands down March 1 but her absence will not resolve Labor’s maladministration
By Jim O’Toole, Townsville Bureau
Catching armed offenders in stolen cars is no longer a priority for Queensland Police after a senior officer from the Gold Coast was stood down for allowing officers on patrol to ram a stolen car.
Police had been tracking a group who had stolen an Audi 5 on January 29 which was allegedly involved in multiple dangerous driving incidents in the following days.
On January 31, the Audi was driven to a house in Pacific Pines and people armed with weapons got out and allegedly threatened people at the home before stealing the Arteon.
The two vehicles went to a house in Mermaid Waters the following day, with people in the vehicles allegedly involved in a failed carjacking attempt.
The two cars were then tracked by police. Police were authorised by Senior Sgt Arron Ottaway to ram the Arteon, after deploying stingers, subsequently arresting the offenders who were dangerously driving the vehicle on its rims after the tyres were shredded by ground spikes.
Officers also arrested the people in the Audi.
Two days after the incident, officers attended Sgt Ottaway’s house just after 8pm and issued him with “professional development” paperwork in front of his wife and children. On February 8, Sen Sgt Ottaway was stood down pending the outcome of an investigation into the pursuit.
After the February 1 incident police arrested two 15-year-olds, three 18-year-olds and a 17-year-old in relation to the incident.
Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll has been urged to intervene and reinstate the respected Gold Coast officer amid mounting pressure from frontline staff.
In the wash of Sgt Ottoway’s suspension from active duty, Commissioner Carroll today stated she would not renew her contract with QPS after it expires in July. She will stand down on March 1.
The Queensland Police Union has finally entered the fray between senior management and frontline police which has seriously affected morale and engendered public dissatisfaction with police performance and being unable to protect the public.
“This is an example of the disconnect between senior management in the South Eastern Police Region and frontline police,” QPU president Ian Leavers told News Ltd.
“Senior Sergeant Ottaway should be receiving commendation for co-ordinating the apprehension of serious criminals and instead the police hierarchy are standing him down from operational duty.
“It is no surprise crime is out of control in the Gold Coast when the police hierarchy are so out of touch with frontline policing that they would rather stand down hard working police than let them apprehend (alleged) criminals,” he said.
“It seems the senior police hierarchy on the Gold Coast would rather police sat behind desks than be out keeping the community safe and apprehending (alleged) criminals.
“We have a crime wave at the moment where the public are demanding police take action,” Mr Leavers said on Tuesday.
“And what they are saying is we want the police to protect us and that’s where we go back to the Bourke Street massacre. Some of the findings out of that was the disconnect between frontline police and senior management. We don’t need to see what happened down in Melbourne happen here in Queensland.”
A spokesman for the Queensland Police Service said: “The circumstances around an incident involving the pursuit of a motor vehicle at Mermaid Waters on the February 1, 2024 are currently being investigated by the Ethical Standards Command. No further information is available at this time.”
Another senior officer from the Gold Coast said he was unable to find enough staff to fill night shifts.
“I have a critical shortage of staff at my station. They are walking out the door in droves,” the officer said.
“We’re gutted. How bad do things have to get before someone will stand up and take some accountability?”
The senior officer said he was regularly unable to find a crew to respond to priority call-outs and hadn’t been able to roster a vehicle for night shift patrols in several weeks.
“I just cannot look my staff in the eye and tell them everything will be OK anymore – we are drowning and there is no one coming to help.”
At least 1800 officers since 2021 have been stood down for refusing the dangerous Covid jab, severely affecting the operation of the organisation in spite of 196 senior officers being exempted from the vaxx.
Numerous resignations and natural attrition also added to the declining numbers of experienced officers.
The mismanagement of QPS by Queensland Labor has finally come home to roost and local recruiting drives have not resulted in any significant local numbers being added to its depleted ranks.
In a desperate move to enlist more officers Queensland Labor advertised overseas for recruits with a criteria that upset many taxpayers.
The advertisement stated that Australian citizenship was unnecessary and applicants from any country with policing experience were welcome to apply.
Katarina Carroll, the girl from Herberton made good, is the second senior Covid scalp in the justifiably maligned, corporate Labor administration. Former Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk by her own hand was the first. Story News Ltd and Cairns News
