'All lies': Former prison guard braces for 'leper' treatment
A former NSW prison guard concedes he'll be regarded as "a dog" and treated like a leper for providing evidence to a corruption inquiry about covering up an alleged inmate bashing.
Terrence Walker, who resigned as a senior prison officer in 2017, on Monday admitted he lied in official reports about the incident at Lithgow Correctional Centre in February 2014.
Appearing before the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption, Mr Walker accused other staff of being complicit in a cover-up to "clean the mess up" and claimed one warned "this one will come back to bite us on the arse".
He told the hearing: "I will be put 'on the dog' today for giving this evidence".
Counsel assisting the inquiry, Sam Duggan, asked what that term meant on a day- to-day basis.
"(It's) like having leprosy, nobody wants to talk to you. You become an outcast, ostracised," Mr Walker replied, admitting he was concerned about reprisals.
The probe is examining allegations officers used unwarranted force on the man before deleting CCTV and planting drugs to justify a search of the cell.
The inquiry was told the victim, a bikie gang associate who cannot be identified for legal reasons, had been abusive on an intercom while complaining of not having television in segregation.
He then received a visit from a specially-trained team known by inmates as "the squad" or "the ninja turtles" and claimed to have been bashed, suffering a black eye, bruising around his mouth and a rib injury.
An official report claimed the man "tripped over cell furniture and fell heavily on the toilet" while trying to flush an unidentified object.
"That report is all lies," Mr Walker admitted.
He claimed the man lunged at him, forcing him to strike him multiple times with an open palm and restrain him on the ground.
Mr Walker alleges he colluded with the manager of security, Brad Peebles, and intel manager Brian McMurtrie about what to write in the report.
The inquiry before Commissioner Stephen Rushton SC continues.
AAP