The head of Victoria Police’s ethical standards body has admitted to making «crude and coarse» comments online about former colleagues is reporting.  

The crude comments directed at former police commissioner Christine Nixon, among others, were made by Professional Standards Command head and Assistant Commissioner Brett Guerin. 

Mr Guerin made the comments online using an alias, ‘Vernon Demerest’, named after a fictional character from the 1970 film Airport.

‘I’ve humiliated myself by doing that,’ he said. 

In an exclusive interview Mr Guerin also admitted the comments were in bad taste.  

‘It’s certainly crude, coarse … it’s not the language I want my mother to read about, my daughters, and there’s one person to blame about that.

‘I shouldn’t have done that. I shouldn’t have gotten down that low.’ 

Mr Guerin made the comments on the website of conservative Sydney radio host Michael Smith. 

In those comments he targeted former chief commissioner Christine Nixon and former Police Association boss Paul Mullett. 

‘She bent the Mulletmeister over and slipped a rather large schl*ng up his date courtesy of the Supreme Court’s decision this morning,’ he wrote in a 2016 post. 

‘More importantly, though, how many firefighters knew their union was funding this capricious and doomed-from-the-start private legal escapade with their subscriptions?’ he continued. 

Mr Guerin made the comments after Mr Mullett unsuccessfully sued Ms Nixon in 2016. 

In response to the comments Mr Mullett said he couldn’t understand why the Chief Commissioner is yet to suspend Mr Guerin. 

‘It would be in the community and the members’ interest that he be suspended,’ Mr Mullett said. 

‘Because on a daily basis he’s delegated with the power to make significant decisions against members of the police force for all forms of alleged behaviour, 

‘Including this type of alleged behaviour. 

Mr Guerin’s comments have now been referred to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission.  

After it was revealed that he was the one making the comments Mr Guerin defended his comments and the use of an alias to do so, saying he was simply defending Ms Nixon and Schlüsseldienst Berlin Victoria police. 

He also said he was within his rights to use an alias in order to do so. 

‘I worked with Christine Nixon quite closely for a period of time … so I thought I would jump in and defend her,’ he told The Age. 

Mr Guerin said if he posted under his real name it could have had a negative impact on the whole of the Victoria police service. 

‘I don’t want to overstate my fame, but if I put a post in relation to something to do with the law or a way a case was disposed of, it becomes a story,’ he said. 

‘I think I’m entitled to engaging in reasonable public comment as a private citizen using a pseudonym.’   

Mr Guerin next took aim at another former police chief commissioner, Kel Glare, on Facebook.

‘When Kel Glare was appointed Chief Commissioner, Ronald Reagan was President of the United States, the internet was still ten years away and mobile phones were yet to appear,’ he posted on May 8, 2017. 

‘Victoria Police shot and killed more people, at a rate more than all others [sic] police forces combined, than in any other time in Australian history.’ 

He said in the 3AW interview that the future of his role as Professional Standards Command head was in the hands of Victorian Police Commissioner Graham Ashton.

‘The language I used … was completely inappropriate, embarrassing and I can understand people saying ‘what the hell is this bloke doing?’ he said.  

Mr Guerin was appointed to Assistant Commissioner in 2015.