Police watchdog says Mal Lanyon’s timing in raising the issue was ‘regrettable’ and led to delays

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The New South Wales police commissioner made a last-minute bid to hold hearings into Sydney’s anti-Herzog protest behind closed doors, delaying the inquiry, the police watchdog has revealed.

The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (Lecc) has said that its inquiry into the February protest at Sydney’s town hall, launched after widespread allegations of police brutality, would go ahead this month with a mix of public and private examinations, saying the timing of issues raised by police commissioner, Mal Lanyon, was “regrettable”.