Dismissal of cop was fair

Former Whangarei officer Paul Lamb at the police disciplinary hearing. Photo / Northern Advocate

A policeman sacked after he was acquitted on a assault charge has failed to win his job back.

Paul Lamb was unable to convince the Employment Relations Authority he had been unjustifiably dismissed after he was acquitted on a charge of assaulting a prisoner in the back of a patrol car in February 2009.

A police disciplinary hearing later decided Lamb should be dismissed for serious misconduct and he was sacked last July.

The Employment Relations Authority this week ruled Lamb's employer acted fairly and reasonably in dismissing him.

Lamb's lawyer, David Grindle, refused to comment on the ERA outcome and whether his client would appeal in the Employment Court.

The Whangarei District Court cleared Lamb in November 2009 of assaulting James Tamihana, who stole a bag from a shopper, in the back of a patrol car in February of that year.

But an internal disciplinary process found that his employer could have no trust and confidence in him to behave appropriately in any position.

Lamb neither mentioned the assault on Tamihana in his jobsheet nor told his supervisor about it, although he did state the incident in his Tactical Options Report two days later.

At the police station, Lamb used Tamihana's jumper to wipe off blood and mucus that Tamihana spat on the walls and a glass window - an action deemed as inappropriate behaviour from a senior police officer.

Authority member Eleanor Robinson had to consider three questions: did police carry out a fair and reasonably investigation; was the decision to dismiss him fair and reasonable; and whether dismissal was within the range of reasonable penalties available?

After completing his investigation, police general manager human resources Wayne Annan found Lamb had breached the Code of Conduct.

A disciplinary hearing was convened and, at the end of the process, Assistant Police Commissioner Grant Nicholls dismissed Lamb on July 16, 2010.

Robinson determined that police carried out a fair and reasonable investigation and followed a robust process.

When asked why he did not report the incident in the patrol car, Lamb replied: "It was one punch, you know, and in the big picture it wasn't that serious to hunt someone down to discuss it."

On wiping off the blood and mucus, Lamb said he was advised to do so by another officer who, investigations revealed, had been in the job for less than a year.

Nicholls said he found it disturbing that Lamb tried to minimise the significance of his use of force on Tamihana.

The timing of his assault was a significant factor because it occurred within weeks of Lamb's return to frontline duties, he said.

Lamb had 15 complaints against him in his 16 years in the force.