By Callum Godde
An officer is in hot water after purportedly penning a COVID-19 conspiracy-laden open letter to NSW Police boss Mick Fuller.
The letter, uncovered by AAP FactCheck, questions the legitimacy of Australia’s actions to curtail the spread of coronavirus, the severity of the disease and the police enforcement response.
Senior Constable Alexander Cooney, a Coffs-Clarence Highway Patrol officer, signs off on the six-page letter.
NSW Police have confirmed to AAP the duty status of an officer from the northern region is under review as part of an investigation into the matter.
Within the letter, the “Cops for Covid Truth” group calls on Commissioner Fuller to consider challenging ongoing rules to “restore community trust”.
It claims many NSW Police members are “fed up” with enforcing “oppressive rules … in the name of COVID-19” and “looming mandatory vaccinations”.
“Many of us believe that we are removing our own rights and freedoms by enforcing these rules upon the community, including our family and friends,” the letter says.
“And the community are (sic) confounded by the intensified police enforcement around peaceful freedom protests and how inconsistent this was when compared with the Black Lives Matter protests.
“This contradiction is further destroying public confidence.”
The letter pushes for assurances from Mr Fuller that police members and the general public will be given a “choice” to receive coronavirus vaccines or not.
It also infers officers may be called upon to force vaccines on people and seeks to “raise the alarm that there is a global dictatorship occurring and the police force is being used as a tool to push these global and corporate agendas upon the population”.
When approached by AAP, NSW Police said it was aware of the letter.
“The officer, who is attached to a specialist command in the northern region, has been spoken to,” a spokeswoman said.
“His duty status is currently under review. It would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”
An abridged version of the letter has been widely shared on social media by a political party that the Australian Medical Association previously labelled “anti-vaccine”.
Australian Associated Press
