An ex-police sergeant who was promoted after threatening a suspect with a loaded gun has avoided prison after dozens of assault and misconduct charges against him were dropped.
Former Victoria Police officer Michael Gaul, 50, was in 2016 charged with 18 offences over incidents during drug raids six years earlier, the County Court heard on Thursday.
Gaul was accused of placing his service revolver into a suspect's mouth and pushing a screwdriver into his neck while threatening to kill him in Richmond in July 2010, during a search for a heroin stash.
He also allegedly kneed the suspect in his ribs while he was handcuffed and being escorted out of the premises by police.
In a Southbank raid later that month, Gaul allegedly hit a suspect in the face with his elbow.
He was also charged over allegations he incited other police to steal seized property. These charges were dropped in November 2019, but he still faced eight assault and misconduct charges.
Gaul pleaded not guilty to all charges but his trial was delayed due to the pandemic, the court heard.
By August 2022 most of these charges had been dropped by prosecutors after Gaul agreed to plead guilty to one count of assault over the gun incident, Judge Jeanette Morrish said.
She said, by the time the matter came to her for a pre-sentence hearing, the prosecution no longer alleged he put a gun inside the suspect's mouth.
"Rather, it would allege that you merely pointed it at his chest from a distance of approximately one metre," she said.
The victim of the gun incident still suffers nightmares about the ordeal and it left him frightened and distrusting of police.
"Loud noises scared me easily and I am now very scared of the police," he said, in a statement read to court.
Judge Morrish said Gaul was in a position of trust as a police officer detaining a suspect when he committed the crime, which was an aggravating feature.
"You committed this act, however, when frustrated at not being able to locate the heroin you knew to be at the premises. You suffered a grave lapse in judgment," she said.
"Police are entrusted to uphold the law and to treat all suspects with dignity, respect and according to law."
She said his conduct would have been concerning for his police colleagues. An officer who witnessed the previously alleged theft said he was left with an "uneasy feeling".
"At the very least you set a very poor example for the junior police members who witnessed your loss of self-control and aberrant behaviour," Judge Morrish said.
She said, even though in October 2010 there were suggestions the allegations could be referred to internal police bodies for investigation, Gaul continued to serve as an officer and was even promoted to detective sergeant.
More than six years went by until he was interviewed about the claims, by Victoria Police Professional Standards Command in November 2016.
He was suspended that year and then suspended without pay after the claims were aired during a 2018 committal hearing.
He retired from the force in 2020 after being diagnosed with PTSD.
Gaul was convicted of assault and fined $7500.
