Taxpayer picking up the tab for the minority of lazy or slipshod police again

**RDJ** · 9th February 2014, 18:16

Here we go... we pay three times.

Once for the botched investigation.

Once for the required investigation.

Once for compensation.

Compensation for the family of Christchurch murder victim Phil Nisbet is possible, police have reportedly indicated.

The 47-year-old truck driver's death in May 2009 was initially ruled as a suicide, but a homicide investigation was launched two years later after a coroner raised doubts.

Mr Nisbet's wife Helen Milner, 50, was was convicted in December last year of murdering Mr Nisbet by poisoning him with a sedative and finishing him off by suffocating him with a pillow.

Police have admitted shortcomings with the investigation but Mr Nisbet's sister, Lee-Ann Cartier, wants compensation.

Detective Inspector Tom Fitzgerald told TVNZ's Sunday programme, which screens tonight, that compensation was possible.

Ms Cartier told APNZ after the trial last year that she wanted compensation.

"Financially it's crushed me. It's something that I haven't been able to let go. I need my money back for all the money I spent trying to do the cops' job.''

She said she spent thousands of dollars on phone calls and flights to Christchurch to further her inquiries.

Commenting after Milner's conviction, Mr Fitzgerald accepted the first investigation was badly flawed.

"It wasn't treated as a homicide. Unfortunately, that was the mistake that was made.''

An internal police investigation was carried out and the Independent Police Conduct Authority brought in.

The IPCA did not take things further but the first officers in charge of the investigation had been "counselled over their treatment'' of the initial inquiry, Mr Fitzgerald said.

"They were spoken to in respect of their shortcomings and everything was made clear as to what those shortcomings were.''

Why aren't the people screwing up, paying the piper the way (most of) the rest of us have to do when we mess up? Why can't they pay into an insurance scheme compensation fund so they have skin in the game, if they can't be bothered doing the job right first time?

**98tls** · 9th February 2014, 18:29

Whats the problem the taxpayer shells out millons every week to buy smokes/fund TAB accounts/hp payments on high k SS Commodores/ensure that plenty of wives n children get a beating on a saturday night when the piss runs out so why pick on the coppers fuck ups,ignoring the obvious all around you and posting threads about coppers has surpassed waving threads in the boring ratings.

**Akzle** · 9th February 2014, 21:31

fuken cagers.

**Berries** · 9th February 2014, 23:08

Originally Posted by RDJ

Compensation for the family of Christchurch murder victim Phil Nisbet is possible, police have reportedly indicated.

The 47-year-old truck driver's death in May 2009 was initially ruled as a suicide, but a homicide investigation was launched two years later after a coroner raised doubts.

Mr Nisbet's wife Helen Milner, 50, was was convicted in December last year of murdering Mr Nisbet by poisoning him with a sedative and finishing him off by suffocating him with a pillow.

Police have admitted shortcomings with the investigation but Mr Nisbet's sister, Lee-Ann Cartier, wants compensation.

Detective Inspector Tom Fitzgerald told TVNZ's Sunday programme, which screens tonight, that compensation was possible.

Ms Cartier told APNZ after the trial last year that she wanted compensation.

"Financially it's crushed me. It's something that I haven't been able to let go. I need my money back for all the money I spent trying to do the cops' job.''

She said she spent thousands of dollars on phone calls and flights to Christchurch to further her inquiries.

Commenting after Milner's conviction, Mr Fitzgerald accepted the first investigation was badly flawed.

"It wasn't treated as a homicide. Unfortunately, that was the mistake that was made.''

An internal police investigation was carried out and the Independent Police Conduct Authority brought in.

The IPCA did not take things further but the first officers in charge of the investigation had been "counselled over their treatment'' of the initial inquiry, Mr Fitzgerald said.

"They were spoken to in respect of their shortcomings and everything was made clear as to what those shortcomings were.''

Fuck, now I am confused. Did she do it? Did he do it? Did the Police do it? Did it happen? WTF?

I think we need Scooby Doo on the case.

**TheDemonLord** · 10th February 2014, 09:08

Originally Posted by Berries

Fuck, now I am confused. Did she do it? Did he do it? Did the Police do it? Did it happen? WTF?

I think we need Scooby Doo on the case.

Wife Killed Husband

Husband's Sister suspected Wife

NZ Police went Herpa Derp

Husband's Sister did some investigation

Husband's Sister got case re-opened

NZ Police charged Husband's Wife

Husband's Wife convicted of Murder.

And she would have got away with it, if it wasn't for those meddling Kids

**Scuba_Steve** · 10th February 2014, 09:28

Originally Posted by TheDemonLord

Wife Killed Husband

Husband's Sister suspected Wife

NZ Police went Herpa Derp

Husband's Sister did some investigation

Husband's Sister got case re-opened

NZ Police charged Husband's Wife

Husband's Wife convicted of Murder.

And she would have got away with it, if it wasn't for those meddling Kids

So what you're saying is they [police] gave up on it because no $$$ to be made until someone did half their job for them which then forced them to do the other half?

Hell it's sorta surprising the sister hasn't been changed for "interfering" or something

**HenryDorsetCase** · 10th February 2014, 09:59

If her name is Cartier, she don't need our stinkin' compensation..... just sayin'

**HenryDorsetCase** · 10th February 2014, 10:07

Originally Posted by Scuba_Steve

So what you're saying is they [police] gave up on it because no $$$ to be made until someone did half their job for them which then forced them to do the other half?

Hell it's sorta surprising the sister hasn't been changed for "interfering" or something

I would like to read the performance review of the cops who attended and did the initial investigation. The thing about this fucking Helen Milner is she is a complete psychopath nasty piece of work. I followed the trial in the newspapers and she had a history of lies and deceit and cheating and theft and nastiness going back to when she was a freakin' schoolgirl. Plus of course she got her own son banged up for something he didnt do and got caught and was a serving prisoner at HM Prison during the Nisbet trial.

One of the cops said when giving evidence that he thought her behaviour was bizarre when he attended after she had called them about his suicide. But with zero background, it would be fairly easy to file that under the "peaople are strange" category of life experience. Plus there was a fairly plausible (at first blush) story. All bullshit as it turns out, but you know, it hangs together. so the D who gets it from the uniforms gives it a once over lightly and says "Yup, he topped himself".

Remember there was no real reason to be suspicious, they dont want to tread on the greiving widows toes too hard, and it took the sister more than a year to dig out the troof. When the po po did finally get into gear they got the result.

My point (and I do have one) is that it is very easy with the benefit of hindsight and all the shit that went public at the trial to point the finger at the po po but I think its quite understandable how this got shelved initially.

**oneofsix** · 10th February 2014, 11:46

Originally Posted by RDJ

Here we go... we pay three times.

Once for the botched investigation.

Once for the required investigation.

Once for compensation.

...

Ms Cartier told APNZ after the trial last year that she wanted compensation.

"Financially it's crushed me. It's something that I haven't been able to let go. I need my money back for all the money I spent trying to do the cops' job.''

She said she spent thousands of dollars on phone calls and flights to Christchurch to further her inquiries.

...

Pay the bitch. Cheaper than paying the dic's wages to have come up with the original evidence. Think about it she put in a lot of hours for $0 to develop the theory and prove, sure the

had to put in a few more hours to bring it up to court standard but they would have had to do that anyhow. The only wasted money is for the investigation that called it a suicide.

Nearly forgot the best part. By paying her it really pisses the Govt. off as she isn't one of their paid lackeys, can't put her on traffic duty or protester raids.