Inside cops’ harrowing fight to get their jobs back after being sacked for refusing to get Covid jabs
A former rugby league star turned cop has revealed the hardships he faces after being fired from the force for refusing to be vaccinated against Covid.
Father-of-five Justin Poore, 39, was fired from the NSW Police Force in 2021 after refusing an order from then-Commissioner Mick Fuller for all officers to get the jab.
Mr Fuller removed Mr Poore and 54 other officers under the same section of the Police Act used to fire corrupt officers and charge double murderer Beau Lamarre-Condon.
The ex-cop said he is “treated worse than a criminal” and could not find other work to support his family due to the severity of the section used to fire him.
Although Mr Poore was fortunate to work as a sole proprietor in his former profession as a plumber, he and the other former officers still want their old jobs back.
Former NSW police officer Justin Poore (pictured) has revealed the hardships he and 54 other ex-cops have faced since he was fired for refusing to be vaccinated against Covid
Despite playing eight years in the NRL and representing NSW in the 2009 State of Origin, Mr Poore said police work was his real “dream job”.
However, when the time came to get the shot, he asked higher-ups what effect it could have on his health.
“Nobody could answer my questions, nobody could tell me what was in it, and they couldn’t tell me any long-term data they had on it,” he told A Current Affair.
“I didn’t want to take the risk.”
Mr Poore and the other officers were all immediately dismissed under section 181D of the Police Act which allows the commissioner to remove any officer in whom he has “lost confidence.”
He said it was used to fire “corrupt police officers, people who forge subpoenas, people who steal money, people who steal drugs, people who do the wrong thing and break the law in ways that are irreversible.”
Those laid off under the 181D have a shadow hanging over them as they look for future employment prospects, a battle that many of the officers laid off over the jab are still fighting.
‘You are untouchable, no one will touch you. You wouldn’t hire that person,” Mr. Poore said.
Mr Poore added that his “mental health has been terrible” in the years since his dismissal, adding that there have been “days when I couldn’t get out of bed.”
He said the police response to permanently ban them from the force was “vindictive” as unvaccinated recruits are now being welcomed.
Other unvaccinated former officers who resigned before Fuller’s term are also free to rejoin the force.
Mr Moore said he was treated ‘worse than a criminal’ as any future work in other police forces or in security was virtually impossible due to his dismissal over the jab.
Despite playing eight years in the NRL and representing NSW in the 2009 State of Origin, Mr Poore said police work was his real “dream job”.
A NSW Police statement said the 55 officers were dismissed “after failing to comply with a lawful order”.
“That is, those officers were removed for failing to comply with the Commissioner’s 2021 directive that all members of the NSW Police Force be vaccinated against COVID-19.
“The commissioner expected those officers to comply with a lawful instruction regarding the safety issue.”
The statement found that any dismissed officer had the ‘right to request a review of their removal order’ by the NSW Industrial Relations Commission (IRC).
The IRC ‘consistently’ upheld the commissioner’s decision to fire the officers, which was also supported by current Police Commissioner Karen Webb.
“Any former officer removed from the NSW Police under section 181D on the grounds of failure to comply with a lawful order will not be eligible for reappointment,” the statement reads.