A domestic violence report against former assistant police commissioner Mario Tonna must be investigated even if the complaint was withdrawn, top criminal lawyer Joe Giglio said.
The Nationalist Party’s daily in In-Nazzjon said earlier this week that Mr Tonna’s partner filed a police report claiming he had headbutted her and harassed her via SMS and WhatsApp. The newspaper also said the former senior officer had a drinking problem.
Read: Disgraced assistant commissioner quits after allegedly headbutting woman
Announcing that Mr Tonna had resigned after the newspaper reports, Home Affairs Minister Michael Farrugia said the officer worked long hours and the “allegations” against him had been withdrawn.
Just because the complaint was withdrawn does not mean everything stops there
Contacted by this paper, Dr Giglio said that, on the basis of what had been reported in the media, the alleged offences included violations that could be prosecuted by the police, even though the complaint by the injured party had been withdrawn.
He said the media reports documented a number of incidents that happened on more than one occasion.
Read: Defiant police officer promoted
Mario Tonna (right) and Home Affairs Minister Michael Farrugia.“Just because the complaint was withdrawn does not mean everything stops there”, Dr Giglio said.
The police still had an obligation to investigate if the report was withdrawn voluntarily and also if more serious crimes, which did not need the victim’s consent to prosecute, had been committed, he added.
The Home Affairs Ministry said Mr Tonna was a “hard-working officer who worked his way up through the ranks and worked long hours for the benefit of the police corps and the public”.
This led to accusations by the Nationalist Party that Dr Farrugia was justifying domestic violence.
The PN accused him of undermining efforts to combat domestic violence, saying that, rather than taking steps to dismiss the officer, his government had given Mr Tonna two promotions and was now trying to excuse him.
In a statement following Dr Farrugia’s comments, the ministry said it condemned all forms of domestic violence and regretted statements that could have been understood as remotely justifying such behaviour. It said the comments had been twisted by the Opposition, adding that the minister’s track record spoke for itself.
Read: Poor man, he works long hours
Asked about his take on the incident, GWU police union chief Sandro Camilleri said Mr Tonna was not a member of his union. He said the union condemned all forms of domestic violence, even more so if perpetrated by a police officer.