It is a job description few would apply for: the person police dogs learn to attack.
asserted
dogs → apply → ?
Former Victoria Police Dog Squad Sergeant Hayden Bodycomb says that was part of his working life, and that it has left him permanently unable to work.
asserted
it → say → him
He has launched a Supreme Court of Victoria action against the state of Victoria, alleging the force failed to protect him from serious injury.
asserted
force → launch → injury
Bodycomb, 50, filed a writ and statement of claim on October 9, with the matter set to go to trial in Melbourne if not resolved.
uncertain
matter → file → Melbourne
The complaint comes just weeks after the Daily Mail revealed Victoria Police was under siege with civil complaints amid allegations of rampant bullying by senior officers.
asserted
Police → come → officers
At the centre of the claim is Bodycomb's role as a decoy - the person who stands in for a fleeing or violent offender so that police dogs can be trained to chase, bite and hold.
uncertain
dogs → stand → offender
According to the claim, the work was a requirement of his employment.
uncertain
work → accord → employment
It alleges the former officer was made to take part in training involving 'repeated attacks by police dogs, often knocking him forcefully to the ground'.
asserted
officer → allege → ground
Former Victoria Police Dog Squad Sergeant Hayden Bodycomb (pictured) was attacked by dogs for a living.
asserted
Bodycomb → picture → living
Bodycomb alleges the physical and mental toll was severe
The statement of claim describes three main forms the work took.
Sometimes he wore a bite suit - protective gear designed to withstand a dog's jaws - while the training replicated real muzzle attacks.
At other times, it states, he was not wearing a bite suit, and the dogs wore muzzles while the training still replicated real attacks.
The claim also describes decoy work involving repetitive lifting, twisting and manual handling.
On top of that, it alleges the training involved 'repetitive force and strikes' to his neck and lower back.
uncertain
training → allege → neck
Bodycomb alleges the toll was severe: protruding discs in his lower back and neck, chronic pain, impaired mobility, surgical scarring and neurological disturbance.
asserted
toll → allege → back
He also claims chronic anxiety, depression, irritability, disturbed sleep and an adjustment disorder.
uncertain
He → claim → anxiety
The documents allege those in charge of the training, the Chief Commissioner or, alternatively, Inspector James Duggan and Senior Sergeant Paul Morgan, failed to carry out adequate risk assessments, supervision, instruction or rotation of duties.
asserted
Duggan → allege → duties
A police decoy is attacked by a dog during a training drill (stock image of a Belgian police dog biting a professional decoy during an outdoor exercise)
The claim says there was no adequate system for checking on his health, and that his complaints went unheeded.
uncertain
complaints → attack → health
It also alleges the training facilities were inadequate for conditioning dogs to attack people.
asserted
facilities → allege → people
In one of the more striking allegations, the claim suggests disciplinary complaints were fabricated against him.
uncertain
complaints → suggest → him
The document gives no further detail.
asserted
document → give → detail
He further alleges breaches of workplace safety regulations on hazardous manual handling, including a failure to use mechanical aids or alter the system of work.
asserted
He → allege → work
The action is being spearheaded by top legal firm Maurice Blackburn, which declined to comment when contacted by the Mail.
asserted
which → spearhead → Mail
The claim states Bodycomb was earning $142,772 a year before tax when he last worked.
uncertain
he → state → tax
He has been incapacitated for all employment and will remain so permanently, his lawyers have submitted.
asserted
lawyers → incapacitate → employment
While Bodycomb's medical costs have been covered by WorkCover, he holds a serious injury certificate that allows him to sue for damages for pain and suffering and loss of earning capacity.
asserted
him → cover → capacity
Decoys are routinely bitten by ferocious dogs as part of their training (stock image from a police demonstration in Thailand in 2014)
asserted
Decoys → bite → 2014
Police dogs attend the home of mushroom killer Erin Patterson in November 2023
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dogs → attend → November
Everything you need to know about the Daily Download
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asserted
Mail → need → podcast
- NEW PODCAST: The Trial of Erin Patterson, the 'mushroom
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He is seeking unspecified damages, with the matter to be decided by a judge alone.
In May, Bodycomb made headlines when he was found guilty of dragging a colleague along the road and resisting arrest at a police station.
uncertain
he → gain → station
Police had stopped Bodycomb on Bungower Road in Somerville on October 4, 2023, and asked him to hand over his phone and exit his vehicle.
asserted
Police → stop → vehicle
He refused and said to police: 'How about you guys f**k off?', the Herald Sun reported then.
asserted
Sun → refuse → police
He then dragged Detective Senior Sergeant Jens Bertelsen along the road while driving away when the latter put one hand inside Bodycomb's Holden Colorado to try to switch off the ignition.
asserted
latter → drag → ignition
Bodycomb, who had resigned from Victoria Police, was twice commended for bravery and promoted to sergeant in 2016.
asserted
who → resign → 2016
He appeared for sentencing in the County Court of Victoria in July, where Judge Geoff Chettle convicted and fined him $25,000.
asserted
Chettle → appear → 25,000
The Aporia
