Queensland's police commissioner has given teary evidence about being "pinched on the arse" by a senior officer at a watch house early in her career, as well as being "attacked by a sexual predator" colleague.
This story contains strong language.
Commissioner Katarina Carroll said she made multiple complaints about incidents of sexual harassment in the 1980s and 1990s.
"The first time it was about a senior officer telling me I didn't deserve to be in the job. That I was taking the job off a male colleague and I was going to fail," she said.
"So I went to the senior officer in that area. He dealt with that. I was fine with that."
Commissioner Carroll said at "another time in that same station" she was assaulted by a colleague.
"I was pretty well attacked by a sexual predator on my first day of training in that area," she said.
"He took me to the forest and started taking my seatbelt off and I started running back towards the station.
"My station protected me."
Commissioner Carroll said in the late 1980s or early 90s she was also assaulted by another officer.
"I had another senior officer who kept pinching me on the arse in the watch house," she told the inquiry.
"The men in that station protected me, I reported it once, [it] got dealt with, I didn't report it the other two times because I felt safe in the environment I was in."
'Club' of abuse survivors
Commissioner Carroll has been recalled to give evidence for a second time at the Commission of Inquiry into Queensland Police Service (QPS) culture and responses to domestic and family violence.
The inquiry heard a QPS senior women's collective compiled a dossier of female officers' "lived experiences" of sexism and misogyny in 2017 and 2018.
One female officer wrote: "There is a club of us [female officers], unspoken of, unnamed who either survived or got out of the job."
Counsel assisting the commission Ruth O'Gorman told the court some of the things the female officer experienced was "being called a slut, lesbian".
"She's had hands placed in her crutch to make sure she wasn't hiding anything in there more times than she could remember to count," Ms O'Gorman said.
"She had been touched on the bottom, had her bra undone, had hands put down her front, told to pull up her shirt for a 'tit inspection', been bent over a desk forward and backwards and told that the police officers who'd done that were only joking, she's been kissed in ways that were unwanted.
The inquiry has heard the female officer wrote: "I know off the top of my head, five women who have been raped in the job.
"I know of no policewoman who has not been offended against in the job in some way or another.
"We have minimised the behaviour in order to stay in the job that we love."
The inquiry heard the female officer, who is a rape survivor, recounted a senior sergeant saying to her: "What, we have to be precious around you because you reckon you've been raped? F***. Must have been a dumb, ugly c*** to rape you."
'Vagina whisperer' cop subject of CCC probe
The inquiry also heard evidence about former deputy commissioner Paul Taylor, who resigned in August after a lewd comment he had made came to light.
The inquiry heard on Thursday that Mr Taylor was subject to a Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) investigation.
Ms O'Gorman told the inquiry it found three breaches of discipline for financial matters however none of the conduct "amounted to corrupt conduct and the matter was not related to sexism or misogyny."
The CCC found his conduct did not warrant disciplinary action for dismissal, the inquiry heard.
On Wednesday the commission was told Mr Taylor was subject to a second, "quite serious" complaint at the time he made a sexist comment at a conference this year.
He resigned after the inquiry heard he had referred to a gynaecologist friend of his as a "vagina whisperer".
The inquiry also heard a specialist unit to investigate bullying and sexual harassment within the QPS — Task Force Juniper – was established in 2019 but was decommissioned two years later as most officers considered it a "toothless tiger."
The inquiry was also told the domestic violence (DV) command – established in 2021 after the DV death of Doreen Langham – was under-resourced and more staff were needed.
Commissioner Carroll told the inquiry addressing domestic violence was "extraordinarily important" and "any [domestic violence] resources that are required … will be given."
However, she said she had "never been approached for more resources into that command."
"I can walk out of here and the Assistant Commissioner [Brian Codd] can tell me exactly what positions they want today and I can make those positions temporarily available within the next few days," Commissioner Carroll told the inquiry.
Commissioner disturbed by 'horrific' racism
The inquiry also heard several instances of racism within the QPS, including officers referring to First Nations people in racist and derogatory terms on a "regular basis".
Ms O'Gorman told the inquiry a sergeant at the Queensland Police Service Academy said: "You can smell them, before you see them" in reference to First Nations people.
"That must be, I would suggest, very disturbing to you?" Ms O'Gorman asked Commissioner Carroll.
"Extraordinarily disturbing," Commissioner Carroll replied.
"You have a sergeant, charged with teaching the formal curriculum and imparting the values of the QPS to your newest recruits, talking in that disgraceful manner about First Nations people as recently as late last year," Ms O'Gorman said.
"Absolutely horrific," Commissioner Carroll said.
"That sergeant is not living by the values of the organisation. She should not be in that role because I expect her to live by the values of that organisation."
The officer has been moved to a different role and her conduct is being investigated, the inquiry was told.
Officers have also made comments like "bring out the black 'shiny shiny's' for NAIDOC [Week] so we can take photos for workplace", the inquiry was told.
The commission heard a senior sergeant referred to a female Aboriginal colleague as a "smelly, old dugong".
"Unbelievable. It's hard for me to read this," Commissioner Carroll told the inquiry.
"Atrocious … very distressing. Completely inappropriate."
Commissioner asked about saying QPS 'in no way racist'
Commissioner Carroll was questioned over her defence of the service in 2020 as being "in no way racist", following a wave of anti-police sentiment sparked by the death of an Indigenous woman in custody.
"That is saying that 17,000 members of the QPS are racist," Commissioner Carroll told the inquiry.
"You knew that there was racism in the QPS, you had been told that a month before and you stand up and say 'we are not racist', you knew that was not true commissioner," Judge Deborah Richards said.
"Yes," Commissioner Carroll replied.
"I know I have racist people in the organisation. I know that."
"So why did you say: "in no way racist?" Ms O'Gorman asked.
"OK. I could have chosen another word … I could have … [said] the organisation as a whole is not racist.
"[With the] benefit of hindsight, I would have reframed it because I know and did know we had racist people in the organisation."
Ms O'Gorman detailed a further case of a senior constable who posted a photo in a closed Facebook group of a "dark skinned baby sleeping with their arms behind their back, captioned: how cute, baby dreaming about being arrested like his brother."
Commissioner Carroll said she was disgusted and appalled to have read that.
The inquiry on Wednesday heard several incidents of systemic bullying, sexism, homophobia and racism within the force.
A spokesman for Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said: "The commissioner has the confidence of the government."
The inquiry continues.
