Chief Inspector Darren Cornell resigned from PASA in 2013 during an internal union investigation probing allegations he conspired with a female colleague to access confidential records of committee of management meeting discussions during his campaign running for union secretary.

Chief Inspector Cornell was interviewed several times as part of the investigation before he tendered his resignation. Neither Cornell nor the executive assistant were accused of any criminal wrongdoing.

He left before the investigation was finalised.

The executive assistant was investigated and sacked over the confidentiality breach.

On his campaign website, Cornell describes himself as “transparent” and lists his number one priority as “transparency of the Police Association”.

But at the time of his departure, Cornell told members he was leaving the union to further his policing career.

According to his website, Cornell “returned to SAPOL to expand his knowledge and development towards becoming a Commissioned Officer”.

Cornell said he was approved by SA Police to take four years of unpaid leave to work for the union, which he left after he was unsuccessful in his bid for secretary.

Chief Inspector Cornell said allegations of misconduct were “not reflective of my time within the Police Association”.

“During my policing career (including the Police Association) I have been subjected to allegations as are many police officers.”

“I have never had an adverse finding against me.”

It is true many officers within the hopelessly corrupt SAPOL are subject to allegations but escape without an “adverse finding”. This is mostly due to SAPOL’s strong commitment to covering up its bad behaviour. It is certainly not confirmation of the officers’ innocence, especially when so many of those cleared officers were caught red-handed on camera taunting, provoking and assaulting unarmed civilians.

Cornell denied any knowledge of the executive assistant losing her job.

In 2021, Cornell was a key part of a splinter group of disgruntled former and current union members who failed to have president Mark Carroll stood down during an independent investigation into allegations made by former deputy president Samantha Strange.

The independent investigation, later backed by a second independent legal review, did not substantiate Strange’s claims against Carroll, who at the time warned the comments were defamatory and subject to legal action.

A special general meeting called to have Carroll stood down was not validated because less than half of the members required for a quorum attended.

The splinter group also unsuccessfully petitioned for a vote of no confidence in the union’s entire committee of management for its handling of the allegations, which were never substantiated and subject to legal action.

Should it have been successful and the motion carried, the union’s entire management would have been up-ended and thrown the association into unprecedented turmoil, sources said.

But less than 10 members attended the meeting.

Cornell was recently booted from PASA in a revenge move after election rival Wade Burns narrowly won the recent election for the union’s presidency.

Just as the “transparent” Carroll neglected to mention the 2013 incident, Wade Burns – who also does the big talk about transparency – failed to mention he had been demoted in 2017 after aggressively and indecently assaulting a female SAPOL employee at a social function.

SAPOL continues to be a bad joke that the taxpayers pay for.

Source

Police Association of SA presidency candidate Chief Inspector Darren Cornell resigned from union during internal misconduct investigation. The Advertiser.