Police are accused of ‘aligning’ themselves with Bruce Lehrmann’s defence

ACT Police have been accused of ‘aligning’ with Bruce Lehrmann’s defense team during his trial for rape by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

ACT DPP Shane Drumgold has already raised concerns about “police and political conduct” in the case of the former Liberal staffer.

Lehrmann had been accused of raping Brittany Higgins in Parliament in March 2019. He has always strenuously denied the allegations.

Drumgold voiced his complaints about the police in a letter sent on November 1 to AFP Police Chief Neil Gaughan.

ACT Police have been accused of ‘aligning’ with the defense team of Bruce Lehrmann (pictured) during his rape trial by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

In the letter, he states that the police force was “clearly aligned with the successful defense” and had suggested that someone else make the decision to hold a new trial.

“At jury discharge on October 27, 2022, defense attorney Steven Whybrow spoke to my reporter (REDACTED) and stated that he had a meeting with investigators and they suggested that he contact me and first suggest that I was not impartial’, says the letter from the DPP to AFP, news.com.au informed.

And accordingly, I request that you outsource the decision of whether or not to re-run the trial to someone outside the office.

Lehrmann’s legal team said he had spoken to police about the bail conditions that were placed on him while he awaited a second trial, which has since been abandoned.

“This is emblematic of the exclusive and consistent direct engagement that the police have had with the defense rather than the prosecution in the lead up to and during the trial,” Drumgold wrote in the letter.

Mr Lehrmann had been accused of raping Brittany Higgins (pictured) at Parliament House in March 2019. He has always strenuously denied the allegations.

Drumgold also said that Ms Higgins felt “harassed” by the detectives.

“The complainant has long expressed concern that during the investigation stage she also felt intimidated by the police, who felt they were putting pressure on her to suspend the complaint,” she wrote.

Gaughan said in a leaked email to police that “the allegation that the DPP has made against individual members of the ACT police has not been substantiated.”

‘These complaints are dealt with through the appropriate mechanisms. So I can’t comment further.

‘Operation Covina has been a challenging case for all involved. I acknowledge the dedication, professionalism and commitment of the officers involved in the investigation.’

ACT DPP Shane Drumgold has already raised concerns about “police and political conduct” in the case of the former Liberal staffer.

In the same letter sent on November 1, Drumgold said that “there should be a public inquiry into political and police conduct in this matter.”

ACT Attorney General Shane Rattenbury confirmed the matter had been referred to the Australian Law Enforcement Integrity Commission for further investigation.

The police union previously criticized Mr Drumgold’s office for criticizing the Australian Federal Police and ACT Policing who investigated the matter.

In a statement, Australian Federal Police Association president Alex Caruana said the union “wholeheartedly” supported a judicial inquiry into Lehrmann’s trial.

But he said “desperate attempts” to smear police forces by the territory’s top prosecutor were unproven and the subject of an internal investigation.