The partner of a
lesbian police officer who died in April has accused the
New South Wales police force of discrimination based on
sexual orientation, reports Australian newspaper The Sydney Morning Herald.
Senior Constable
Cheryl Wang, 35, died on April 3 after a rock climbing
accident. She had received several honors, including an
award for bravery after nabbing a car thief from a
moving vehicle.
According to the
paper, a series of mistakes by police officials have
caused continued grief for her partner of 11 years, Wendy
Garraway, 35.
A letter of
commendation from Commissioner Ken Moroney included the
wrong date of death and misspelled Garraway's name.
Another official police letter and Wang's certificate
of service contained the same mistakes.
Garraway told the
Herald that the police failed to acknowledge
two of her partner's policing awards. She singled out
Deputy Commissioner Andrew Scipione, for reneging on his
promise to preserve Wang's warrant card, and Sgt. Mark
Whiteside of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
forum, for failing to uphold his pledge to pay for the
funeral costs.
"New South Wales
police have increased intensely the sorrow I feel at
losing my partner," Garraway said to the paper. "Their
so-called attempts at respect have been nothing but
lip service, and so far they have shown themselves to
be incompetent or neglectful, at the very least. I
think if Cheryl had been married that they wouldn't have
treated me the way I've been treated."
A spokesperson
for the police force denied Garraway's accusations,
telling the Herald that no promises were made
to preserve the warrant card or pay for the funeral. The
spokesperson explained that warrant cards were usually
destroyed after an officer left the force and that
Commissioner Moroney was "deeply apologetic" for the
mistakes. (The Advocate)
