Hung jury at local cop’s trial
THE misconduct trial of a Geelong police officer over his interactions with a Rebels bikie has ended in a hung jury.
The jury’s inability to reach a majority verdict does not clear Mr McDonald of one charge of misconduct in public office.
It comes after he was found not guilty of a separate charge of misconduct in public office on Tuesday.
Mr McDonald is likely to know by September if the Director of Public Prosecutions will retry a misconduct charge against him.
THE misconduct trial of a Geelong police officer over his interactions with a Rebels bikie has ended in a hung jury.
The jury of 11 — including one woman who is in a relationship with a man known to Mr McDonald — were discharged just before 12pm yesterday.
The jury’s inability to reach a majority verdict does not clear Mr McDonald of misconduct in public office.
Mr McDonald is likely to know by September if the Director of Public Prosecutions will retry a misconduct charge against him.
Elements of the charge alleging he attempted to impede a police investigation into a 2014 burglary in North Geelong in which Rebels bikie John Donnelly was a suspect will be considered, sources say.
Yesterday, the matter was listed for a preliminary hearing in the Geelong County Court on September 23.
On Tuesday, Mr McDonald was found not guilty of a separate charge of misconduct in public office.
That verdict was delivered about three years after he was charged and accused of attempting to persuade a colleague not to prosecute Donnelly.
The jury took more than five hours to reach the verdict on the charge stemming from a phone conversation Mr McDonald had with colleague Jamie Kahle minutes after SenConstable Kahle let Donnelly go on August 8, 2014 pending summons for traffic matters.
Mr McDonald told the jury he wasn’t aware Donnelly was a member of the Rebels motorcycle gang.
The charge that remains for Mr McDonald — who is currently suspended without pay — stems from him saying “all correct” over the police radio on August 23, 2014.
The call came seconds after he pulled over Donnelly in a ute that matched the description of a vehicle reported leaving a North Geelong burglary scene.
The Geelong County Court was told Mr McDonald pulled over Donnelly and another man, Adam Hanns, in Bell Park less than half an hour after the burglary was reported to police.
Of the “all correct” call Mr McDonald said: “I had no offences in front of me and (I thought) that further inquiries had to be made.”
The court has heard “all correct” among police can mean no further investigation is needed but it is also open to interpretation, and can mean further investigations will be completed.
Mr McDonald’s barrister, Geoffrey Steward, said his client was innocent because “all correct” was “palpably ambiguous”.
The Advertiser understands any internal disciplinary action against Mr McDonald will only be considered after all legal avenues in his case are explored.