A Rugby Player’s Nightmare: Allegations of Police Misconduct and a System Under Scrutiny
The early hours of a Sunday morning in December 2020 saw rugby league player Tom Starling, shirt torn, face bloodied, and visibly concussed, pacing the confines of a police cell. This was not just any arrest; it was an incident that a veteran detective, Kurt Hayward, recognised would ignite a firestorm. Hayward, who dedicated 23 years to the NSW police force, is speaking out for the first time about the Starling case, believing it exposed a systemic failure to hold officers accountable.
The arrest occurred during a 21st birthday party at the Shady Palms bar on the NSW Central Coast. Police were called to a disturbance involving bar security and Starling, along with his family. Officers from the local station and the riot squad claimed Starling and others violently attacked them, with Starling allegedly attempting to grab a detective’s firearm from his holster.
As Starling was released from the Gosford police station on Sunday morning, a waiting journalist and camera operator were poised to capture the latest NRL player embroiled in controversy. Clutching a police document detailing charges of assaulting police and resisting arrest, Starling navigated the media scrum.
The following day, Detective Sergeant Kurt Hayward entered the police station and observed another officer reviewing CCTV footage of the incident. He watched as Starling was forcibly removed from the bar, backwards, by officers. A tall, imposing riot squad officer, Sergeant Evan Prowse, is seen delivering at least two punches that rendered the Canberra Raiders hooker unconscious. While still held by police, and either unconscious or barely regaining consciousness, Starling was struck multiple times by a local officer, Senior Constable Steven Brown.
Hayward’s immediate reaction was stark: “I said, ‘It looks like [a police officer’s] going to hit the dock.'” He was referring to the police cells where individuals are held post-charge.
“It Was That Obvious That It Wasn’t Right”
“You could see Starling had already been knocked unconscious and was floppy, and Brown throws those punches at the unconscious body,” Hayward stated. “There’s no way you can justify those actions.” Both Prowse and Brown have denied assaulting Starling.
Hayward then examined the official police report. To him, the report bore no resemblance to the CCTV footage he had witnessed. “It was a classic case of overcharging and [police] trying to justify their actions by overcharging and saying things that just didn’t happen.” He harboured the hope that his superiors, upon viewing the footage, would initiate an internal investigation, leading to the suspension and potential charges for the officers involved. This, however, did not materialise.
The Rising Tide of Police Misconduct Claims
The Starling case is being brought to light as part of the “Brutal Force” series, which highlights a concerning escalation in complaints and civil lawsuits targeting the NSW Police Force in recent years. The previous financial year saw the NSW Police Force incur a record $40 million in settlements and legal costs for individuals who alleged police misconduct. This represents a 43 per cent increase in just five years, according to the police’s own data. During the same period, NSW police were defendants in 478 civil suits, averaging approximately two cases per working day.
Legal professionals, victims, and criminologists contend that this trend signals a flawed police misconduct system that frequently fails to deliver justice, compelling victims and their legal representatives to pursue action in civil courts.
- Increased Litigation: Professor Tim Prenzler, a leading criminologist and police integrity expert at the University of the Sunshine Coast, argues that “High levels of litigation are a result of bad behaviour by police.”
- Evidence of Misconduct: Prenzler further explains that for a civil suit against the police to be successful, “you have to have a very strong case. So where we see success in litigation, there’s probably substantial evidence of misconduct.”
A “Template of Untruths”
In the immediate aftermath of the incident, Starling retreated home, grappling with a barrage of media reports painting him as a “footy thug.” He feared his burgeoning NRL career was over. “It was like living in a dream or something, like you’re just waiting to wake up,” he recalled. “I’d just started playing in the NRL, the only thing I ever wanted to do, and one moment you’re there at your mate’s 21st and then you’re being told you’re being charged with assaulting police.”
Raised in a working-class family on the Central Coast, rugby league was Starling’s lifeblood. He described NRL players of his youth as “superheroes.” He informed the Canberra Raiders of his innocence and his intention to contest the charges. His parents invested their savings, engaging criminal lawyer Samar Singh-Panwar to challenge the police narrative.
Singh-Panwar stated, “I think anyone who views that CCTV footage can see that what occurred was an unjustified, brutal assault by police. It simply could not be reconciled with the allegations as contained in the fact sheet.” In court, Singh-Panwar would later characterise the initial police account of events as “a template of untruths.”
“I See a Man Resisting Arrest”
Detective Sergeant Kurt Hayward remained resolute. “After I saw that footage, I was immediately concerned that the police had done the wrong thing and needed to report that misconduct as an obligation of my role.” NSW police officers are legally obligated to report suspected criminal offences, corruption, or unlawful acts by their colleagues.
However, a deeply entrenched culture of silence often hinders such reporting. Professor Prenzler notes that “Suppression of evidence and solidarity are common in all organisations. It’s probably more intense in police… because of the more stressful and dangerous nature of the work where police are more dependent on backup and support from colleagues. And so naturally, they’re very reluctant to blow the whistle or provide evidence against colleagues.”
Undeterred, Hayward decided to report what he perceived as misconduct to his superior, the crime manager. “We’re watching the footage together and I’m saying, ‘Yeah, there he is… punching an unconscious man three times.’ I said it a few times in the conversation and the crime manager said, ‘Oh, you keep saying that. I see a man who’s resisting arrest, not a police officer punching another man.'”
Hayward was informed that the head of his district and the region commander believed the police had acted appropriately. He was advised that any further disagreement would require him to escalate the matter “all the way to the top.” Hayward described this as contemplating writing a “career suicide note.”
He proceeded to write to the Commissioner, formally reporting the incident. A day or two later, Hayward was summoned to the region commander’s office. To his surprise, the commander, having not been fully briefed, watched the CCTV footage and initiated an investigation into the officers’ conduct.
Hayward had achieved a significant victory. He was appointed as the officer in charge of the Starling matter and instructed to withdraw most of the charges against the player. However, the repercussions at Gosford Police Station were palpable. Hayward experienced ostracism from some colleagues, and anonymous notes were left on his desk. Disillusioned, his pride in his work diminished, and approximately 18 months after the Starling incident, he resigned from the NSW police.
To this day, Hayward expresses anger towards the NSW police, believing the system sometimes permits officers with considerable societal power to engage in misconduct with impunity. “There’s nothing more hypocritical than someone in that position doing those things. You should be arresting people who do that, not doing it yourself,” he asserted.
A Two-Year Legal Battle and Lingering Scars
For the next two years, Starling fought the charges while striving to maintain his NRL career. “It was hard to show up sometimes, put that brave face on and pretend like it wasn’t affecting me, but 100 per cent it was,” he admitted. “I was a young kid trying to live out my dream and I had this dark cloud just following me around everywhere. I used to go to games and just think everyone was thinking, ‘Oh, there’s that thug Tom Starling that assaulted police officers,’ and did all those things that they said about me.”
Ultimately, Starling’s persistence, mirroring Hayward’s, yielded results. In February 2023, the final charge against him was dismissed. More than a year later, in February 2024, the officers who had punched him, Prowse and Brown, were charged with assault over the incident. Their trial is scheduled to commence shortly, over five years after the event, with both pleading not guilty.
Tom Starling’s brother, Josh Starling, was found guilty of common assault and resisting police for his involvement in the brawl, though no conviction was recorded. Once the criminal proceedings against Brown and Prowse conclude, Starling intends to pursue a civil lawsuit against the police. By the time all legal avenues are exhausted, it is anticipated that more than six years will have elapsed since that night at Shady Palms.
Starling admits that moments still bring him back to the feeling of being in that cell. “It’s something that’s always going to be there,” he said. “You still google my name, it’s still there. That never goes away.”
