A senior officer of the law has spoken on the shocking probe of the murder detective who oversaw the squad that located Cleo Smith in November.
Col. Blanch, the commissioner of the WA Police, spoke about the recently stood-down detective Cameron Blaine on Perth radio station 6PR.
Commissioner Blanch urged the Corruption and Crime Commission probe to be carried out “thoroughly rather than swiftly,” without providing any substantial facts.
Speaking to 6PR morning radio presenter Gareth Parker, he remarked, “I absolutely see there is a need for information.”
First off, I shouldn’t talk more since the CCC is now in charge of managing it basically.
“But we have removed the officer, and I believe it shows that we are acting based on the preliminary information we have.”
The stand-down decision, according to Commissioner Blanch, was “in no way at all a judgement of guilt or anything else other than to say we are doing an inquiry with the CCC.”
The commissioner claimed to be uninformed of the “precise facts” of the alleged complaint against detective Blaine.
“It is more appropriate that the CCC complete their investigation to provide me with sufficient knowledge to enable me to decide what I do next,”
It is crucial that we complete this process slowly rather than rapidly, he said.
Cameron Blaine was one of the four policemen there when four-year-old Cleo was rescued back in November, and he has been engaged in some of the most significant Australian cases in recent memory.
After Cleo was discovered at a home in Carnarvon, a video of him speaking to her went viral.
My name is Cameron; are you OK, Cleo? In the video, he questioned her. Is it okay if we take you to visit your mother and father?
The senior policeman was also in charge of the investigation into the 2013 murder of Aaron Pajich-Sweetman by would-be serial killers Jemma Lilley and Trudi Lenon.
He was also a key player in the arrest of Toby Moran for the 2005 death of his backpacker girlfriend Simone Strobel in NSW.
On Tuesday afternoon, WA Police and the CCC issued a statement announcing an inquiry into a senior detective for wrongdoing, who is thought to be Sgt. Blaine.
The statement added, “A senior detective has now been stepped aside while investigations into suspected wrongdoing are underway.”
The CCC receives many accusations related to police oversight, which is a large portion of its job.
The inquiry is still underway, according to the statement, and no further comments will be made.
In November, Sergeant Blaine spoke to Daily Mail Australia about the effort to preserve Cleo.
He said that one of the most amazing experiences of his life was carrying Cleo in his arms as he drove her to the hospital in the early hours of the morning after her rescue.
Cleo screamed, “That’s me!” when she saw a poster of herself on the wall as they were waiting outside the hospital. as he suppressed his tears.
He said that when the medical personnel spotted her moments later and approached the door, they all started crying as well.
The investigator stated it was “absolutely amazing to see her sitting there…it was incredible” while speaking to the media the day after he rescued her.
“I enquired as to her name.” At the time, Sergeant Blaine stated, “I just wanted to make absolutely sure that it was her. One of the men rushed in front of me and lifted her up.
“What is your name?” I asked. She remained silent. After I had asked three times, she finally turned to face me and introduced herself as Cleo.
The finest experience of Sergeant Blaine’s career, he said.
He played a crucial role in some of Western Australia’s largest homicide investigations and saw to it that some of the state’s worst murderers received life sentences.