Detective Bryan Anthony Swift leaves Brisbane Magistrates Court on Tuesday.Credit:Toby Crockford
He is accused of leaking to a Nine News journalist the address of the suspect,who was later charged with terrorism offences,and one count of murder as part of a separate investigation.
This week,Detective Swift faced a committal hearing in the Brisbane Magistrates Court to decide whether he should stand trial on the three offences in the Supreme or District Court at a later date.
Detective Sergeant Justin Suffolk,giving evidence on the murder inquiry,said there had been a discussion around an investigative strategy to send the TV news crew to the suspect’s house.
He said the TV news crew’s visit to the house,coinciding with the public release of CCTV vision,was hoped to provoke conversations between the people inside the house,which was bugged.
Detective Sergeant Suffolk said the surveillance device picked up one relevant statement within the house around the time of the news crew’s visit. He described it as “a significant event” in the case.
Detective Sergeant Suffolk said after he was first questioned by Crime and Corruption Commission investigators regarding the alleged leaks,he found a relevant text message conversation on his phone with Detective Senior Constable Tara Inch.
Inch:“I gather we are releasing the CCTV,because I just saw it on the news?”