Top cop cleared of ‘mad’ charge
Homework allegation fails
GETTING colleagues to help with your child’s homework is not criminal – even if you are one of the highest ranking police officers in Australia, a court has ruled.
Ramzi Jabbour’s distinguished police career came to an abrupt halt when in 2019 he became the first Australian Federal Police deputy commissioner to ever be charged in Australia, which a court this week found was “utter madness”.
He was charged with dishonestly exercising influence as a public official and possession of a prohibited weapon.
The dishonesty charge related to Mr Jabbour asking an AFP lawyer to answer a series of basic legal questions, saying they were for his studies when they were in fact for a child’s school assignment.
In the ACT Magistrates Court on Friday, he was cleared of any wrongdoing.
Magistrate James Stewart found Mr Jabbour not guilty of both charges and questioned whether the dishonesty allegation should ever have been prosecuted criminally at all.
Magistrate Stewart said there was no evidence the lawyer’s ability to do his job was affected by helping with the
Mr Jabbour was also accused of taking his police gun to a secret facility in regional NSW in 2018, and allowing two relatives to shoot it.
Mr Jabbour had been seen as the frontrunner to take over the AFP but was effectively removed from consideration for the top job when a cloud over his future formed.
The court was told Mr Jabbour was one of the hardestworking AFP executives who had dedicated his life to the organisation.
Outside court, Mr Jabbour’s barrister Ken Archer said his client was a man of the highest integrity, and remained well respected among senior law enforcement.
“The findings today vindicate that point of view,” he said. “He is an innocent man, he is a decent man, and the outcome today truly serves the interests of justice.”