Melbourne PSOs Threaten To Kill Band Member's Dog

Melbourne's Protective Services Officers are in the spotlight once more following reports that police are looking into a complaint registered by Chris Drane and Tim Durkin of local outfit Cherrywood that a PSO had threatened to kill their dog while the pair were passing through an railway-station underpass.

As Fairfax reports, Drane and Durkin were walking through an underpass at Fitzroy North's Rushall station at the weekend when, they allege, the officer in question placed his hand on his gun and made threats against Drane's dog, Poncho, after the canine apparently barked at him.

Durkin admits to saying, "That's the way, Poncho," when the dog arced up, when, according to Drane's statement, "the shorter of the two PSOs reached for and placed his hand on his gun, stared me in the eye and said, 'That's a good way to get your dog killed'.

In their statement, submitted to the Police Conduct Unit (part of Victoria Police's Professional Standards Command), Drane and Durkin allege that prior to the exchange, having been stopped and asked for details by two PSOs for carrying open beer cans onto railway-station property (which they admit to), they offered to leave the underpass, not realising that it constituted part of the station's grounds. It was during this back-and-forth that Poncho barked at the officers and the alleged threat was made.

"Not only were we both appalled by this statement, but also very fearful for the life of the dog and of our own safety," Drane wrote in his statement. "This was a very excessive reaction to the situation."

After some persistence from the second PSO, the pair say they handed over their details and were let go, but were nonetheless affected by the incident.

A police spokesman has confirmed that the complaint has been "acknowledged by the Professional Standards Command and will be assessed and investigated".

The presence of PSOs has been instigated by the Napthine government, which has pledged a shade under 1000 PSOs across Melbourne's 212 stations (as well as four regional stations) by November. So far, according to Fairfax, 929 of the officers can be found across 156 of the stations. Aspirant PSOs must undergo 12 weeks of training — about a third as long as it takes to earn standard police qualifications.