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Cop Investigation Flawed, Case Stayed
21 Aug
Summary
- Two senior constables charged over 2024 incident at Mareeba watch house.
- Court found 'defects' in the investigation, permanently staying the case.
- A false account about consent was inserted into the victim's statement.
The legal proceedings against two senior constables, Andrew Couchman and Ulrich Weiss, have been permanently halted. The charges stemmed from a January 2024 incident at the Mareeba watch house in far north Queensland involving a vulnerable First Nations man. A district court judge found that the investigation suffered from critical "defects," preventing a fair trial.
Central to the ruling was the discovery that an investigating detective included a statement about the victim not giving consent—a key element for the charges—which the victim had not actually said. The court deemed this insertion "false" and a fundamental flaw.
Despite arguments for proceeding in the public interest, the judge concluded that the integrity of the trial was compromised. While acknowledging the existence of CCTV and body-worn camera footage, the judge stressed that it could not capture the victim's state of mind or understanding of consent.
