In a submission to an LECC investigation into the death of Ballina woman Lindy Lucena, Counsel to the Commissioner of Police have rejected preliminary recommendations to prevent future domestic violence failures and criticised the LECC investigation.
Counsel to the Commissioner of Police, Mr Timothy Smartt, has acted for Nazi Jacob Hersant who was jailed for performing a Nazi salute, as well as for American influencer Candace Owens in High Court proceedings where she was barred from entering Australia for Holocaust denial.
Greens MP and spokesperson for Justice Sue Higginson said:
"I'm frankly appalled that the NSW Police have rejected the LECCs planned critical recommendations to protect victims of domestic violence after the fatal bashing of Ballina local Lindy Lucena at the hands of her violent partner,
"The Police submission criticises the LECC for investigating at all, and claims Lindy died 35 minutes before police arrived, failing to mention that police took 55 minutes to arrive at the scene,"
"I was surprised by the cold reckless indifference to the subject matter of the police submissions and the obstruction of the LECCs recommendations. The submissions failed to acknowledge Lindy's grieving family who raised questions about the police response, the independence of the LECC and rather sought to politicise the LECC's decision to establish Operation Almas.
"The submission motivated me to look at who the police had engaged to represent them. Their Barrister, Timothy Smartt, is the man who unsuccessfully defended a man in Victoria jailed for performing a Nazi salute, and who likened Nazi salutes to hailing a taxi. Mr Smartt chose to defend Candace Owens, an American barred from entry to Australia by the High Court due to Holocaust denial and he defended Pauline Hanson in court after her racist attack on Senator Mehreen Faruqi.
"Legal representation is important, even the most offensive criminals are entitled to legal representation and for barristers the cab rank rule applies, but I question why and how the NSW police chose to engage such a barrister who defended Nazis, Holocaust deniers and public figures who engage in racism in order to defend their approach to victims of domestic violence, particularly at the taxpayer's expense,
"I hope Commissioner Mal Lanyon and Police Minister Yasmin Catley will intervene and ensure the NSW Police accept the LECCs recommendations to keep women who are victims of domestic violence safe and to improve how police respond to emergency call outs."
