Indian-origin cop fails to get back his job after brawl at Aus strip club

Melbourne: Indian-origin police officer Tanvir Brar, who was kicked out of a strip club in Australia for unprofessional conduct in 2019, has failed to get his job back, a media report said.

The Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (QIRC) found this week that Brar’s dismissal from the Queensland Police Service (QPS) was reasonable, and rejected his appeal for reinstatement, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Brar and his friends, including a fellow officer, visited ToyBox Gentlemen’s Club in Surfers Paradise in April 2019 for his bachelor party night out.

He got into an argument with the club’s manager after he was asked to put his phone away, according to the CCTV footage provided as part of Brar’s appeal to the QIRC.

The club staff alleged that Brar had been taking photos, but the latter claimed he was checking cricket scores, and messaging friends and his wife.

The manager repeatedly asked Brar to leave when a staff member alleged that he was being aggressive — a claim that he denied, and added that the manager abused him and said: “You four Indian creepy bastards, get the f— out of my place”.

Brar was barred from the venue, triggering a 12-month ban on him entering other licensed premises as well, the QIRC heard.

After he found out about the ban, he went to the Surfers Paradise police station where he filed a complaint with the reporting officer, Constable Alex Hommema, who later said Brar was intoxicated and arrogant.

Brar accessed QPRIME — a police records management system — on nine occasions without authorisation. The records held personal information, including the manager’s home address, The Herald reported.

He was convicted of computer hacking, and withdrew the complaint against the manager, claiming he was checking QPRIME to see if the system had updated.

According to police investigation, Brar “wanted QPS to contact the Office of Liquor and Gaming to have the ban on him removed so he could go out with his wife”.

In her investigation, Assistant Commissioner Charysse Pond said Brar, who was then on a probationary period, had been argumentative, aggressive and rude, adding that he was not suitable to be a constable in the QPS.

The QIRC found QPS’s decision to terminate Brar was formed on reasonable grounds.In his defence, Brar told the QIRC that his subsequent termination by QPS was harsh, unjust or unreasonable.