CONTROVERSIAL former Palm Island cop Chris Hurley has been stood down from official duties.
The Queensland Police Service yesterday issued a brief statement saying a 47-year-old senior sergeant from the south eastern region had been suspended.
Several police sources said Senior Sergeant Hurley’s suspension was linked to an incident last weekend, followed by an allegation made against him early in the week. It is believed the incident did not relate to his job as a police officer.
RELATED: HURLEY FOUND TO BE ACTING OUTSIDE DUTIES
He and his junior partner, Senior Constable Barry Wellington, were stood down after a police chase at Pacific Pines in May. The officers allegedly opened fire on a vehicle containing a couple police said were wanted for offences including an alleged violent tomahawk bashing and robbery of a taxi driver.
After a separate incident in December 2014, a court found Sen-Sgt Hurley had acted unlawfully and outside his duties. Luke Cole was accused of pushing Sen-Sgt Hurley over a roadside guardrail but the serious assault charge against him was later dismissed.
Sen-Sgt Hurley was acquitted of manslaughter in 2007 over the death in custody of Mulrunji Doomadgee, which had sparked a riot on Palm Island three years earlier.
Paul Weston