Victoria Police officer Matthew Cocks – who claimed he was bullied into quitting by his bosses – strikes court win

A police officer who attacked his bosses for allegedly bullying him has reached a confidential settlement, days before the case was due to go to trial.

Matthew Cocks, a former Victoria Police officer, was a career police officer who had worked his way up to the highest rank over more than 30 years.

That was before a series of unfortunate events put an end to his dream job.

His end came after serious allegations of bullying against his superiors. And he is not the only one who is concerned.

A writ filed in the Victoria District Court and obtained by Daily Mail Australia accuses Victoria Police of a staggering 26 breaches of their duty of care, amounting to what is described as a “police tort”.

One of the complaints was that his superiors made him work too many hours and then they had complaints about his performance.

Mr Cocks, who had risen to the rank of detective sergeant, claimed he was subjected to humiliation, intimidation, exclusion and being closely controlled by two senior officers.

Furthermore, the veteran officer alleged that the police department failed to offer him any form of counseling and that his complaints about his own mental health were dismissed.

Victoria Police confirmed the matter had been resolved but declined to comment further.

Cocks’ lawyer, Shalyn Mathew of Arnold Thomas & Becker, said the former officer’s allegations appear to show that there is “a great deal” of bullying within Victoria Police.

The company currently has at least 20 cases pending against Victoria Police for psychological injuries resulting from bullying and/or harassment at work.

“All of these allegations appear to demonstrate that this type of behaviour is widespread within Victoria Police, particularly among senior staff,” she said.

‘No one should feel victimised at work. We hope that Victoria Police will look at their culture and processes and bring about real change in this space.’

It was the late 1980s when the then 20-year-old Mr Cocks decided he wanted to serve the community of Victoria and become a police officer.

But in 2019, he began to feel the pressure mounting and the support waning.

He took three months sick leave, but when he returned the army leadership refused to give him his weapon back. He was assigned to administrative duties for the next seven months.

“I thought I would take some mental leave to sort out my thoughts, but they wouldn’t let me come back and be operational or lead a crew when I got back,” he said.

“They were so concerned about my well-being that they put me in an office downstairs and no one came to see me.”

A young Matthew Cocks wanted nothing more than to protect and serve his community. But when it came time to protect himself, Victoria Police turned their backs on him, he claims

Mr Cocks told Daily Mail Australia he believed his former employer was “still living in the 1970s” when it came to the welfare of its staff.

“I am pleased that we have closed this chapter with VicPol and that justice has been done,” he said.

‘I can now move on with my life. I’m going to concentrate on spending time with my wife and family and travelling around Australia in our van.’

While the exact details of the settlement must remain confidential, Ms. Mathew told Daily Mail Australia that Cocks was pleased with the outcome.

“We are pleased with the outcome of the settlement for Matt. It gives him closure and justice, which will help him heal from this experience,” she said.

The settlement follows a disturbing survey of emergency services workers, which found that 60 percent of people who had been bullied at work said it had happened to them by a manager or supervisor.

The People Matters survey, published in May by the Victorian Public Sector Commission, found that only 12.8 per cent of staff said they were ‘satisfied’ with the way their complaints were handled, the lowest percentage of any sector.

It was further stated that more than half of respondents indicated that they had not reported the bullying to a manager because they thought ‘it would have negative consequences for my reputation’.

Victoria Police also refused to respond to questions from Daily Mail Australia about an alleged culture of bullying within the force.

Mrs Mathew attributed Mr Cocks’s psychological trauma sustained during his employment, the continued lack of support from Victoria Police and the ongoing bullying towards him.

“The ongoing bullying and intimidation had a significant impact on Matthew’s mental health, preventing him from continuing in his employment with Victoria Police,” she said.