Former Police Commissioner Mike Bush recieved a phone call from Constable Jamie Foster, whom he knows personally. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Former Police Commissioner Mike Bush recieved a phone call from Constable Jamie Foster, whom he knows personally. Photo / Mark Mitchell
"I am in serious trouble and I don't know what to do."
Those were the words a constable uttered down the phone to then Commissioner of Police Mike Bush, asking for help from an influential family friend just hours after sexually violating a female colleague.
The Herald yesterday revealed former Auckland police officer Jamie Foster called Bush shortly after his crimes against a female workmate at a Kerikeri motel during the early hours of February 5, 2019.
Foster, 30, was found guilty by a jury in March last year of indecent assault and sexual violation. His appeal against his convictions was dismissed by the Court of Appeal yesterday.
Today, details about what was said between the pair can be reported for the first time.
The Herald had sought information, under the Official Information Act, about Foster's call to Bush, including the nature of what was discussed and what, if any, personal relationship there was between the lowly ranked officer and the nation's top cop.
The phone call was not presented as evidence to the jury during Foster's trial last year.
Today, police released a job sheet completed by Bush on March 12, 2019 regarding a call he received at about 7.53am on the day of the rape.
"I was at the Kerikeri Airport awaiting a flight with Assistant Commissioner Mike Pannett and my Chief of Staff Cassandra Anderson. My mobile phone rang with a phone number that I did not recognise," Bush said.
"The caller introduced himself as Constable Jamie Foster. Constable Foster is known to me personally through his father, who is a friend of mine and my wife. I have known Constable Foster's father for over 25 years."
Bush said Foster then told him he was in a distressing situation.
"To the best of my recollection the exact words he used were, 'I am in serious trouble and I don't know what to do'."
Bush said he told the junior officer it was inappropriate for him to have called and there was nothing he could do to help.
"I further advised him that the best thing he could do was to call the Police Association and obtain some legal advice from them. I repeated this advice to him twice and the phone call was terminated."
Jamie Foster outside the Auckland District Court with his lawyer Paul Borich QC. Photo / Doug Sherring
Bush said once the call was over he asked Pannett to contact the Northland District Commander to advise them of Foster making contact.
Responding to Herald questions about the call, Superintendent Naila Hassan, the Waitematā District Commander, wanted to note the call to Bush was unsolicited.
She also confirmed an employment investigation regarding Foster has now been completed, but would not release further information.
"For privacy reasons we are unable to comment on the specifics of any employment investigation, however we can say that Mr Foster is no longer a member of New Zealand Police."
After being convicted, the Herald revealed Foster was still a member of the police while the employment investigation continued but was understood to not be on the payroll.
Throughout the trial last year, Foster and his lawyer Paul Borich QC claimed any sexual contact with the victim was consensual and a "pre-arranged hook-up".
Northland's Detective Inspector Rhys Johnston also told the court there were employment investigations into some of the other officers and their behaviour at the motel.
Foster was part of a group deployed to help police the 2019 Waitangi Day events at the Treaty Grounds.
CCTV footage from the night of the assaults, which was played during Foster's jury trial, also revealed drunken lewd behaviour by several other police officers staying at the motel.
The footage showed a senior sergeant exposing himself and a drinking game using a hollowed-out police baton.
Jamie Foster was jailed for six years after being found guilty of indecently assaulting and sexually violating his female workmate. Photo / File
After the trial, Hassan said four officers were disciplined for behaving in a way which breached the police code of conduct.
"Three of them were dealt with within our disciplinary process and remain on active duty," she said.
One officer is "no longer working for the New Zealand Police".
However, further questions to police by the Herald over what punishment was handed down to those officers and if the unit's semi-dressed senior sergeant was the cop no longer employed have been met with a reply of no comment.
A police spokeswoman has said details about the internal employment issues of other officers could not be discussed due to privacy obligations.
All of the other officers at the motel that night - some of whom told the jury they feared the employment investigation and felt pressure from senior officers - continue to have their names suppressed to protect the identity of Foster's victim.
She told the court at Foster's sentencing: "I am forever labelled as the policewoman who was raped by the policeman."
CCTV footage showed Foster walking across the motel courtyard and slowly opening the ranch slider door of the room where his victim, who was groped earlier in the night, was sleeping.
"With a sense of entitlement, which he quite clearly has, he crept into her room and he raped her," Crown prosecutor Fiona Culliney said at sentencing.
"You raped her as she slept," the judge told Foster.
Where to get help:
• If it's an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111. • If you've ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone call the confidential crisis helpline Safe to Talk on: 0800 044 334 or text 4334. • Alternatively contact your local police station • If you have been abused, remember it's not your fault.
