KEY POINTS:
As Clint Rickards strode from the courtroom, his plan was to take back his command of Auckland's 2500 police staff on Monday.
He did not know police national headquarters had already shut the door on him.
Cleared of all charges after three years of investigations and trials, suspended Assistant Commissioner Rickards' first public words yesterday were: "I was a police officer three years ago, and I am a police officer today."
Asked by the Herald if that meant he would return to work at the Auckland Central police station on Monday, he replied: "I'm the district commander for Auckland City. That's my police station."
Mr Rickards did not know that minutes after the verdict, police national headquarters issued a statement staying he would remain suspended on a base salary understood to be between $150,000 and $159,000 a year while "employment issues" were worked through.
Outside the court, Mr Rickards widened the rift between him and his superiors by attacking the Operation Austin investigation they ordered into police sex crimes after Louise Nicholas went public with her allegations in 2004.
"It was an investigation I would have been ashamed to have led."
Mr Rickards' wife, Tania Eden, clutched his right arm and tried to calm him as he went further before an audience of television crews and reporters and attacked the officers who worked on it.
"It was a shambles. And the police there need to be held accountable. The Austin investigation team need to be held accountable."
Mr Rickards also defended his co-accused, Brad Shipton and Bob Schollum, revealed yesterday as convicted rapists after a suppression order on their jailing for the rape of a woman in Mt Maunganui in 1989 was lifted.
"They shouldn't be where they are," Mr Rickards said, again blaming the Operation Austin investigators.
"Brad Shipton is a good friend. Bob Schollum is a good friend. They are still good friends of mine and always will be."
When Mr Rickards was asked if he thought group sex was an appropriate activity for a serving police officer, his lawyer, John Haigh, QC, interrupted, saying the question was irrelevant and "half of New Zealand has done it".
During his defence against criminal charges relating to Mrs Nicholas, Mr Rickards admitted he and Brad Shipton had consensual group sex with her while the two men were police officers in Rotorua the 1980s.
Mr Rickards, who lived with his then partner and two children in Rotorua at the time, told the court last year that sex with Mrs Nicholas was a "happy occasion".
"We laughed, we giggled. It was just a normal sexual relationship."
Mr Rickards' defence against the charges of which he was acquitted yesterday was that he had never met the complainant.
He initially paused when asked how he felt about the woman, who has name suppression, saying, "Those thoughts best be kept internally".
But he then attacked the woman and included Mrs Nicholas saying: "She's a liar. They both are liars. And they have been proven to be liars over the last three years."
Mr Haigh advised Mr Rickards not to comment when he was asked if the Operation Austin investigation was politically influenced.
And he did not answer questions about his views on Prime Minister Helen Clark, who passed him over for the job of deputy police commissioner seven years ago after hearing he had been investigated for sexual misconduct.
He had had a remarkable rise through the police ranks from undercover officer to assistant commissioner in charge of Auckland.
Operation Austin was headed by Detective Superintendent Nick Perry, who has since been appointed police liaison officer at the New Zealand Embassy in London.
Ms Eden was also a police officer when the allegations surfaced, but has since resigned to take a job with Work and Income on the East Coast.
She said she and her husband still admired the police, having served a combined total of almost 50 years in the force, but she would not comment when asked if the allegations against Mr Rickards had ruined her career as well.
Mr Rickards said yesterday: "The police is a great organisation, and I'd recommend it to anyone", but tempered this with the rider that "questions need to be asked from the leadership down".
Asked if he really believed the police would welcome him back, Mr Rickards said again: "I'm the district commander of Auckland police. I'm looking forward to going back to work as soon as possible."
* It is understood Mr Rickards has been dividing his time between Auckland and Ms Eden's base in the Hawkes Bay town of Taradale while on suspension. He hit the headlines in June last year, when he clipped grass on the lawn of the Taradale home and spent the afternoon reading a book, unaware that detectives were searching a P lab that had been operating in a nearby house.
The couple have "a blended family of five", including Willie Rickards, a wing for the Southland rugby team, who has been on leave from the Highlanders Super 14 squad.
Clint Rickards is completing a doctorate in business studies and a diploma in Maori development.
He said yesterday his priority now was to rebuild his family life, which had been destroyed by the allegations and stress of the court cases.
Where can he go next?
A senior officer in the Auckland region doubted Rickards would return to his job as Auckland's district commander.
"It would be very difficult for the police to reinstate Clint Rickards in Auckland given all that happened," he said.
The officer added there were bound to be some tensions from the staff, who would have mixed and varying views of Rickards.
He said the public was also clearly divided over the verdict and that left the Police Commissioner in a difficult position as he would be criticised no matter what decision was made. Instead, it is believed Rickards will end up in a job at police headquarters in Wellington.
"Rickards is under a different contract to rank and file staff so the commissioner has got a bit more flexibility with him," said the officer.
Employment lawyer Peter Cullen told Close Up last night that Mr Rickards had made a gaffe by criticising the police investigation following the trial. "He made a very bad start strategically if he does want to go back to work," he said.
Waikato Police district commander Superintendent Kelvin Powell was suspended from his job after he was accused in 2004 of raping a policewoman in 1984. He returned to the position after being acquitted of the charges in 2005 but it is understood he is being transferred to Wellington now that his contract has expired.
Detective Superintendent Gavin Jones has been the acting commander of the Auckland City police district since Rickards was stood down following the Louise Nicholas allegations.
- Elizabeth Binning
