Top cop’s shattered relationship
Rotorua commander Bruce Horne left the police after a string of driving offences, but has received an apology for the way he was treated. What was really going on? Tony Wall investigates.
When Inspector Bruce Horne received his Certificate of Service after retiring from police, it wasn’t presented at some grand ceremony – instead it was stuffed in a courier bag and sent by mail.
It arrived with a short note from Bay of Plenty district commander Superintendent Andy McGregor; the frame broken, the glass shattered.
It was an appropriate analogy for Horne’s fractured relationship with the police hierarchy.
After 36 years on the force, 13 of them as Rotorua’s area commander, Horne, 55, had left under a cloud.
The Sunday Star-Times revealed last October that Horne could lose his licence because of a driving infringement.
The details of that infringement proved elusive, and prising the story out of him or his bosses was fruitless.
Then, suddenly, he announced he was retiring and by December 31 he was gone.
We’ve pieced together what was really going on by speaking to sources within police and the community who are familiar with events.
They paint a picture of personality clashes, and an at-times dysfunctional police management.
Horne’s supporters claim he was the victim of an orchestrated campaign to get rid of him, and point to a letter of apology he received from Deputy Commissioner Viv Rickard as evidence that he was shafted.
But some former and current Rotorua staff say Horne’s management style was the problem, and it was a relief when he left.
To understand the background it helps to go back to 2003, when Horne was appointed area commander just before a commission of inquiry into police conduct in the wake of Louise Nicholas’ allegations of rape by Rotorua officers in the 1980s.
Horne wanted to change the culture and it meant he had to get rid of some staff, supporters say.
‘‘He inherited a mess, and it took a long time to fix it,’’ a friend says. Looking back on that time, Horne told the
Rotorua Post: ‘‘You find yourself in a power struggle . . . no one knew me here and let’s face it, I’m a bit different. Some people tell me I’m quirky . . . They were thinking ‘who was this guy from Wellington who wants to come in and change everything’?’’
One source, who still works for Rotorua police and asked not to be named, says Horne ‘‘very quickly got a lot of people’s backs up and there were complaints flying left, right and centre’’.
One complaint was by Nigel Escott, a senior sergeant in charge of front-line staff who was also the long-time leader of Rotorua’s armed offenders squad.
The pair clashed over a number of issues – Horne questioning Escott’s attitude and management of the station and Escott writing a derogatory report about Horne’s commitment to the AOS.
Escott left police in 2004 and took a personal grievance, citing workplace bullying. He received a confidential payment but there was no admission or finding that he had been bullied. Escott says he loved his job and didn’t want to retire, but felt he had no choice.
‘‘It just built and built, it was horrible. It saps all the energy out of you, it consumes you,’’ he told the Star-Times.
Horne’s supporters say he managed Escott fairly and was not found to be at fault.
One current employee describes Horne as a ‘‘good boss, generous with his time, a decent man’’.
Horne’s traffic woes started when he was caught doing 80kmh in a 60kmh zone near Tauranga – he was pulled over, ticketed and incurred demerit points.
Under the demerit points system, if a driver accumulates 100 or more points in any two-year period, their licence can be suspended for three months.
About a year later he was driving to work when his mobile phone rang. He answered it, and put it on speaker.
A motorist saw him handling the phone and made a complaint. Horne had a statutory defence for taking a work call while driving, but decided not to fight it.
‘‘He could have written to the infringement bureau, but a senior sergeant or a sergeant would have dealt with it and he didn’t want to put them in an awkward position,’’ a source says.
He paid the $80 fine, and incurred more demerits.
The incident that would spell the end of his career occurred on the outskirts of Whakatane on the afternoon of June 8 last year.
Horne was travelling on State Highway 30 in an 80kmh zone at a spot where two lanes merge into one.
According to the other driver, a black Holden Commodore overtook him ‘‘at speed’’, causing him to pull left and brake.
It’s understood the driver recognised it as a police vehicle and called *555.
The complaint went to the road policing unit in Rotorua and was referred to McGregor, who confronted Horne.
Sources say Horne didn’t think there was anything to the incident – that the other driver was being a ‘‘jerk’’ by travelling way under the speed limit and not checking his mirrors.
He heard nothing for five weeks, and assumed it wouldn’t go any further.
But then McGregor informed Horne that he would receive an infringement notice for unsafe driving.
Horne was stunned, friends say, as the offence carries demerit points that would mean he could lose his licence.
He felt McGregor had deliberately chosen an offence that would put him in difficulty, and that he was being set up.
It’s understood Horne is upset that protocols were breached, in that the case was considered by a local driving panel made up of his peers, including one he’d had to performance-manage, rather than an independent panel from another district.
Supporters say the panel recommended he be asked to explain himself before any ticket was issued, but he was not given that opportunity.
Horne was told the national manager of road policing had recommended he be charged, sources say, but paperwork showed that in fact, McGregor directed the manager to issue the ticket.
And Horne was told that the occupants of the other car were upset and willing to go to court – job sheets showed that in fact, they just wanted the officer spoken to, according to a source familiar with the case.
Horne pleaded not guilty to buy himself time and decide what to do.
It was an agonising decision, friends say. If he fought the charge the police’s dirty laundry would be aired in public.
But he didn’t want to admit to unsafe driving, because he felt that wasn’t a fair description.
In the end police agreed to amend the charge to impeding another vehicle, which carries the same demerits.
Horne appeared before a magistrate in the Whakatane District Court on December 13 and pleaded guilty.
He was fined $150 and his licence was suspended.
‘‘It wasn’t a great ending, but he wanted to get things done as quietly as possible and get on with his life,’’ a friend says.
He felt that he’d been harshly treated compared to others such as Hawke’s Bay area commander Tania Kura, who was last year given diversion for careless driving after she crashed her patrol car into another vehicle.
Supporters claim Horne was one of several older, senior staff around the country deliberately managed out of their positions.
The Star-Times revealed last year that 13 superintendents had resigned since Commissioner Mike Bush was appointed in April 2014.
In early December, a small farewell was held for Horne.
Rickard, the deputy commissioner, sent a message praising his dedication and describing him as an integral part of the transformation of Rotorua.
Another deputy commissioner, Mike Clement, sent a note saying Horne was instrumental in getting a new police station for Rotorua and was ‘‘genuinely passionate about your people’’.
In January, police released an outdated summary of facts about the Whakatane incident in response to an Official Information Act request.
It said the other driver followed Horne for about 13km after the incident and estimated his speed at 120kmh, without explaining how the driver could have known that. This further angered Horne as the summary was not presented in court, friends say.
In February, Rickard travelled to Rotorua and gave Horne a letter of apology for the way his service awards were presented and acknowledging he’d suffered hurt.
Escott says he feels no bitterness towards Horne and is saddened by how he was treated.
‘‘I don’t wish it on anyone, having gone through it myself. It shouldn’t be happening, they should have fixed it by now.’’
But the source who still works for Rotorua police says there was no option but to ticket Horne.
‘‘If they don’t, and the administration hear they let one of their own off, they are in more trouble than the guy who did the speeding.’’
It’s understood Horne decided to settle with police out of court.
‘‘Taking a case against your employer is like nuclear war, he didn’t want a public hearing that would make everyone look stupid,’’ a friend says.
McGregor didn’t want to discuss Horne’s allegations.
The Star-Times put a series of questions to police headquarters about the way Horne’s driving infringements were handled, his complaints of bullying and wider questions about police culture.
They released a statement in which they acknowledged the ‘‘good work Bruce has done over 35 years’’ and accepting that ‘‘issues arose’’ in the employment relationship.
‘‘We accepted that we could have done better and accordingly apologised to our employee. That apology was accepted.’’
Horne issued a short statement thanking Rickard for ‘‘listening to my concerns and being responsive to them. My wife and I also appreciate that he met with us personally to apologise for what occurred.’’
He and his family had come to love Rotorua. His licence has been reinstated, and he’s now doing consultancy work for the Rotorua Lakes Council.
He has started writing a column for a community newspaper, in which he touches on issues such as workplace bullying.
As for his service award – it was finally presented at a small ceremony attended by Horne, his wife Dee, Rickard and Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick – a happy denouement to a sorry saga.