Floreat murders: Probe into WA Police officers’ actions before Mark Bombara killings reveals dismissive cop

The internal investigation into how police handled the lead-up to Mark Bombara’s double murder in Floreat largely clears the force of wrongdoing but finds one officer was dismissive and condescending towards the killer’s daughter, and another back-filled notes about her warnings.

It also examines allegations officers were over-friendly with Bombara, chatting with him about firearms and ballistics when they were at the family’s home protecting his ex-wife and daughter as they moved items from the house. That familiarity will likely raise eyebrows but police familiar with the inquiry say the tactic calmed a tense situation.

The long-running probe, which has strained relations between WA Police and the State’s corruption watchdog, is almost finalised but it is possible it will be kept secret.

Bombara shocked the nation in May when he shot dead Jennifer Petelczyc and her 18-year-old daughter, Gretl, in their western suburbs home.

The 63-year-old was hunting his estranged wife and daughter, Ariel, when he forced his way into the Petelczyc home, killing the women before turning the Glock pistol on himself.

Police were quickly put on the back foot by Ariel Bombara’s explosive claim that she had expressly warned officers her father was dangerous, unstable and owned many guns.

“Between March 30th and April 2nd, I spoke with police on three separate occasions to raise the alarm about my father,” Ms Bombara said in the aftermath of the tragedy.

“On each occasion, I alerted officers to my father’s guns, and told them my mother and I felt there was a real and imminent threat to our lives.

“I specifically mentioned that there was a Glock handgun which was unaccounted for.”

Her statement saw Police Commissioner Col Blanch order a review into what his troops had been told in the weeks leading up to the murders.

The Corruption and Crime Commission rebuffed police overtures to take ownership of the inquiry, instead agreeing to “actively oversee” the investigation.

It is understood the CCC came close to taking over because police appeared reluctant to take any blame, but a recent shift in attitude by senior officers has appeased the watchdog.

The inquiry has uncovered some failings by police but finds the force’s decision not to issue a restraining order or seize Bombara’s collection of weapons was justified.

However, the report is set to castigate the officer who spoke to Ariel Bombara when she went to Mirrabooka Police Station weeks before the murders.

Ms Bombara was so convinced she was not being taken seriously that night she stepped into another room at the complex and rang Perth Police Station for help.

The police inquiry into what happened at Mirrabooka has backed some of Ms Bombara’s claims, finding the officer was dismissive and condescending.

The inquiry is poised to make an adverse finding against another officer who retrospectively amended notes about what happened when the Bombara women approached police for help.

The report also probes the actions of police who escorted them to the family home in Mosman Park in April.

“On April 2nd, my mother and I were given a police escort to our home to collect some belongings,” Ms Bomara said in her public statement.

“This was the third occasion we warned police about my father’s guns. One officer said, ‘oh don’t worry, we know all about the guns’, and when he called for back-up, he warned his fellow officers to wear bullet-proof vests.”

It is understood internal investigators have looked into allegations that the attending officers were overly friendly with Mark Bombara, chatting to the gun collector about their own firearms and ammunition while his wife and daughter hurriedly grabbed personal items from their bedrooms.

The interaction has the potential to look bad for police but one officer familiar with the inquiry told The Nightly that engaging a potentially erratic person that way was a sound tactic.

Making Bombara feel comfortable took the temperature in the house down and allowed officers to glean information about the status of his firearm collection, including the whereabouts of a Glock Ms Bombara claimed was missing, the officer said.

Many rank-and-file police are hoping the final report contextualises the Bombara tragedy by detailing the intimidating scale of the domestic violence scourge officers deal with every day.

“It’s important that people understand that the officers who dealt with Ariel’s complaints over that period were also dealing with God-knows how many other similar matters,” one veteran officer told The Nightly.

“And if the hierarchy is serious about getting to the bottom of what went wrong it needs to ensure the investigation doesn’t start and stop at the front desk of the Mirrabooka police station.

“Investigating domestic violence is one of the most time-consuming parts of policing. Getting the trust of a complainant can take a long time, and quite often the complaint is withdrawn at the last minute.

“That’s a huge number of hours of police work that goes up in smoke, and the officers in charge of stations know that taking on extra DV inquiries will affect clearance rates in other areas.

“Clearance rates are a critical KPI for senior staff. They are under constant pressure to hit targets.

“Even if we do manage to get a decent (DV) case to court we often see the number of charges reduced dramatically. We will often see a man who breaches a violence restraining order 50 times by sending 50 text messages have his charges downgraded from 50 to one for ease of administration in the courts.”

CCC Commissioner John McKechnie in June told Liberal Leader Libby Mettam that the internal report might show “some defect in police systems and policies”.

“The police investigation which the commission will actively oversee may show mistakes were made or there was some neglect of duty,” Mr McKechnie said.

“But our Western Australian community must reflect and answer uncomfortable questions about its values which allow domestic violence to continue.

“There is only one certainty. Until the community has fully engaged with the issue, and there is active change, more women and children will be murdered.”

The WA Parliament was told on Tuesday that Mr Blanch was prepared to release the internal report publicly but only if all parties were happy for that to happen.

When answering a question on behalf of WA Police Minister Paul Papalia, Labor MP Stephen Dawson said police would make the decision after talking to Ariel and her mother, as well as Liesl Petelczyc, who is the surviving daughter of Bombara’s victim Jennifer Petelczyc.

Mr Dawson said Mr Blanch also had to ensure the release of the report did not interfere with any actions by the CCC, the State Coroner and the WA Ombudsman.

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