Fifteen police officers on suspension from duty on full pay

Tuesday, 8 July 2025

Police have 15 staff suspended from duty on full pay ‒ for issues including illegal behaviour on and off duty, as well as before even joining the force, The Post can reveal.

But, an Official Information Act request for historic records of staff suspended on full pay over the past five years was refused by police, who say they simply “overwrite” records of suspension when an officer returns to duty.

“Previous statuses are not retained in the system,” Inspector Jimi McGrogan, from the police professional conduct team, said.

What police could say, however, was that as of June 9 there were 15 employees suspended on full pay.

Between them, the suspended cops have clocked up nearly $1.2 million in salaries paid by the taxpayer.

At the most extreme end, one police employee has been suspended for nearly three years for alleged unlawful behaviour while on duty, earning a total of $259,651 to date.

This was followed by an employee who had been suspended for alleged unlawful behaviour off duty for more than a year and a half, and had been paid $205,851.

A third employee had been paid more than six figures ‒ $135,846 ‒ while suspended for alleged unlawful behaviour while off duty.

Two members of staff were suspended for alleged unlawful behaviour before even joining the police.

Another three were suspended for use of force on duty, one officer for improper use of police resources, and one for unprofessional behaviour off duty. The rest were suspended for alleged illegal behaviour on or off duty.

To “protect the privacy of individuals” the length of the suspensions were provided to The Post as time ranges.

“Providing the exact length of suspension, when combined with other details, could risk identifying individuals, particularly in cases involving small numbers or unique circumstances,” the response said.

The Post first sent the Official Information Act request to police in the wake of the sudden resignation of former deputy commissioner Jevon McSkimming in May.

McSkimming had been suspended on full pay for five months prior to his departure.

In an exclusive interview with The Post, commissioner Richard Chambers said he had been “concerned for some time” about how long it was taking for employment investigations to be completed.

“The outcome is not always going to be what people would like to hear ‒ worst case they’ll be dismissed ‒ but the least we can do as an organisation is move through those steps quickly.”

The consequences of protracted investigations were felt not only on the employee themselves, but also their colleagues, he said.

Chambers pointed to New South Wales police, who had clear time frames that employment investigations were expected to be completed within, as an example of what New Zealand could be aiming for.

More complicated, however, were investigations that involved alleged criminal matters, which would be at the mercy of criminal justice system, he said.

Chambers said he was also “very conscious” that suspended police officer’s salaries were being paid by the taxpayer.

In February, Chambers directed there be fortnightly reports to the police executive about the status of all employment investigations and any reason for delays.

Police Association President Chris Cahill echoed Chambers’ concerns, saying the current processes could be very harmful to police staff.

“Very often, they’re then found to have done nothing wrong or nothing that would result in them being losing their jobs,” he said.

Cahill added that 15 officers out of the 10,500-strong staff was small percentage (0.14%), given the large number of confrontational incidents police were required to attend.

Historical examples of police officers suspended on full pay pending investigations include Henderson-based Sergeant Martin Folan, who was acquitted of five charges of assaulting prisoners in 2011.

Folan was suspended for two years, and likely paid more than $130,000 while he awaited his fate, NZ Herald reported at the time.

In 2010, a Canterbury police officer who was acquitted of raping a 12-year-old girl was stood down on full pay for three years while he awaited an internal disciplinary hearing, the Herald also previously reported.

In the what is widely thought of New Zealand’s greatest policing scandal, former police assistant commissioner Clint Rickards was also stood down on full pay while he awaited trial for allegations of rape by Rotorua woman Louise Nicholas in the early 2000s.

While Rickards was later acquitted, he was was paid $210,000 in salary entitlements plus $90,000 in leave entitlements after resigning in November 2007.

He also signed a $300,000 resignation deal, which reflected 13 months’ salary.