Media Release - Operation Somnus

17 December 2025

The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission finds two officers engaged in serious misconduct by tampering with evidence and making false statements

A report from the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission released today found that two police officers engaged in serious misconduct by making false statements and then giving false evidence before the Local Court. The misconduct only came to light because the man the subject of the Local Court proceedings had a recording of police conduct on his mobile phone, which he had managed to retrieve after a police officer attempted to delete it.

The Commission investigation began after a Local Court Magistrate said he held ‘grave concerns’ about the behaviour of the officers.  The investigation revealed that the officer in charge had unlawfully arrested the man, choked him and made offensive comments towards the man. Officers then claimed that the man had sworn at them during the arrest. The officer in charge also fabricated statements in the police fact sheet, improperly shared his evidence with other officers and deleted the police CCTV footage which showed him removing the phone from the custody table. 

These allegations had originally been investigated by the NSW Police Force, but the Commission concluded that this investigation was inadequate.

Commissioner Anina Johnson said:

“Honest and accurate police statements are fundamental to the proper functioning of the criminal justice system.”

“Thirty years ago, the Hon Justice James Wood said that acts such as collusion between officers and making untrue witness statements ‘constitutes a gross distortion of police powers, and is destructive of the good reputation of the [Force]’.  The same is true today.”

“Without corroborative evidence, it is very difficult for defendants to prove that a police statement is false or misleading.  The deception in this case only came to light because the man had recorded the conduct of police and that recording was able to be retrieved after it ‘disappeared’."

A copy of the Commission’s report and fact sheet about Operation Somnus is available on our website.

LECC Media

T: 0425 317 535

E: media@lecc.nsw.gov.au