From today's Herald Sun in Melbourne - one for the file
Cop fined for Magpie kill
Article from: Herald Sun
August 01, 2007 12:50pm
A POLICEMAN who used a rifle to shoot and kill a swooping magpie in a
Melbourne backyard has been fined but not convicted by a Victoria County
Court judge.
The policeman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was found
guilty and fined $2,000 in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on April 21
this year for discharging a firearm in a populous place and destroying
protected wildlife.
The policeman appealed against the conviction and fine in the County
Court in Melbourne.
The County Court was told today the policeman fired a shot from his
privately-owned .22-calibre rimfire rifle at a magpie which had been
menacing his two children and other adults in the backyard of his
suburban Diamond Creek house on January 1, 2005.
The constable, who will face a disciplinary hearing to determine his
future in the Victorian police force, has had his service revolver
revoked and been placed on restricted duties since the incident.
His lawyer Andrew McKenna told the court his client had suffered
financially and professionally since the incident.
"That in itself has been a hardship for him," Mr McKenna told the court.
"He has thereby not had the advantage of overtime or penalties or to
pursue promotion," he said.
"A conviction in my submission is not necessary."
Rowan Skinner, for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), told the
court it was a serious incident because it occurred in a populated area
and the policeman "should have known better".
"The Director (of Public Prosecutions) calls for a conviction in this
case," Mr Skinner said.
County Court Judge Pamela Jenkins said she had taken into account the
policeman's unblemished record prior to the incident and today ruled
that no conviction be recorded against him.
But Judge Jenkins ordered that he pay the $2,000 fine and $917.65 to
cover witnesses' costs.
"I do not propose to record a conviction ... taking into account the
unblemished character of the appellant," Judge Jenkins said.
"It was a serious but isolated event that did occur," she said.
The court has suppressed the officer's name.
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