Anger inside AFP over public airport arrest of Ben Roberts-Smith
Unrest is brewing inside Federal Police ranks about how former soldier Ben Roberts-Smith was arrested at Sydney airport this week.
Unrest is brewing inside Federal Police ranks about how former soldier Ben Roberts-Smith was arrested this week, with members criticising a decision to video the event and even mocking the Commissioner for wearing more service medals than the war hero.
On Tuesday the highly decorated veteran was charged with five counts of war crimes and refused bail after earlier being intercepted by AFP officers at Sydney airport in front of his teenage daughters.
This week the Nightly revealed the Victoria Cross recipient had made multiple previous offers to hand himself into the Australian Federal Police if they intended to charge him with war crimes.
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A source close to the former SAS corporal said his lawyers had offered in writing to make him available to authorities “at any place, at any time” to be arrested, but the AFP has declined to comment on the claim.
Serving figures inside the AFP are now privately questioning why their organisation arranged for a videographer to record the dramatic arrest and then distribute the vision to news organisations.
“There was no reason to film that arrest apart from grandstanding, it’s not like it is crucial evidence,” one long serving AFP investigator tells the Nightly, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of fear of professional retribution.
“The arresting officers could certainly have placed him on an Interpol alert list if they were worried about him fleeing the country, and if they had checked the flight manifest it would have been easy to see he was travelling with his daughters”.
“This is a serious misstep by Commissioner (Krissy) Barrett, and I imagine she is now having second thoughts about the way this has been handled and put in full public glare”.
The concerns are shared also by Australian veterans of the Afghanistan war such as former commando Heston Russell who has questioned why the AFP chose to take such a dramatic step in public in full view of dozens of people.
“They waited for him to return from a flight at Sydney airport in public after the Easter long weekend with his two twin teenage daughters, I’m just disgusted by that as an Australian citizen and it really makes wonder; what is the motive here, why are we pushing for drama?”, Mr Russell said.
The Nightly has also seen several derogatory messages and images that are being shared between AFP members criticising the Commissioner’s press conference after Tuesday’s arrest and mocking the number of medals she has worn on her uniform.
One image circulated widely among AFP members shows Commissioner Barrett displaying at least 10 medals earned during her twenty-five-year career, compared to Ben Roberts-Smith wearing half as many decorations following his Afghanistan service.
In a statement an AFP spokesperson declined to comment on internal criticism of the way Tuesday’s arrest was handled, saying “this matter, a joint operation between the AFP and OSI (Office of the Special Investigator), is before the courts.”
The Australian Federal Police Association (has also commended the “professionalism, dedication, and resilience” of investigators involved in the “complex” and “high stakes” war crimes investigation.
“This work demands patience, analytical expertise, and an unwavering commitment to due process. It also has a punishing effect on members physically and psychologically, and this must be recognised,” AFPA President Alex Caruana said.
“The investigators, many of whom are AFPA members, have demonstrated professionalism at every stage, managing complex information under intense scrutiny while upholding the highest legal and ethical standards,” Mr Caruana added.
