Kevin Nunes whistleblower 'silenced' by Staffordshire Police
A police whistleblower has accused Staffordshire Police of trying to ‘silence’ him after the force refused to answer his requests for information.
Former Detective Inspector Joe Anderson, who exposed the scandal in the botched Kevin Nunes murder case, has been labelled ‘vexatious’ by the force.
It comes after Mr Anderson made a number of requests to the force under the Freedom of Information Act about the case and others he has raised concerns about.
He played a central role in revealing wrongdoing by detectives in the 2002 gangland murder probe which led to the convictions of five of men jailed for the killing being quashed by the courts. Mr Nunes was found dead in Pattingham.
Mr Anderson said: "I am appalled that 10 years after I first raised concerns about this seriously flawed case, the senior management team of Staffordshire Police is still trying to hide the truth from the general public and protecting the individuals involved.
"By claiming that my requests are ‘vexatious’, Staffordshire Police is simply trying to suppress the truth and prevent the release of embarrassing information. It’s a crude attempt to silence me.”
Mr Anderson’s revelations led to a huge corruption probe by the police watchdog and 14 officers, including four chief officers, being investigated in an inquiry codenamed Operation Kalmia.
No criminal charges were brought and only one junior officer faced any disciplinary action in the form of ‘management advice’.
Chief Constable Jane Sawyers, who retires next month, was one of the officers investigated and eventually cleared.
He added: “Publication of internal memos and updates would give the public an opportunity to see how the gross misconduct identified during Operation Kalmia was viewed by the senior management team and the message portrayed to the staff.
"I have serious concerns that the failings identified in the Court of Appeal judgement, were not limited to the Kevin Nunes investigation.”
Deputy Chief Constable Nick Baker said: “We have the right to refuse a request that is deemed to be ‘vexatious’. For example, where the applicant makes persistent, overlapping applications.
"However, we do not use these rules to silence individuals and if any applicant is unhappy with the decision the force has made, they have the right to request an internal review and can, if they remain unhappy with the decision we have made, appeal directly to the Information Commissioner.”
Kevin Nunes, 20, of Whitmore Reans, was shot five times in a country lane in Pattingham in a drugs turf war. Five men were found guilty of the murder in 2008 but were then cleared on appeal in 2012.
The police watchdog is yet to publish its findings – two-and-half years after concluding its inquiry.
