Police officer’s sickening remark to domestic violence survivor for choking on terror: ‘It won’t help you’

Michelle Faye had never heard the term “cop shopping” until a police officer harshly pronounced it at her in early 2021.

The Australian mother was following a 90-minute audio recording she provided months ago, which depicted her estranged husband Daniel Gregory Mctiernan repeatedly assaulting and strangling her.

She believed the harrowing evidence of her potentially life-threatening ordeal — one of many she endured — would finally prompt police to act, after about 20 interactions with officers that had led nowhere and detained her and her family in danger.

But for months, the police sat on that video clip while Mctiernan remained at large in the community, terrorizing and stalking him.

Faye was hoping to find a sympathetic ear on the other end of the phone when she contacted the police in January 2021.

Instead, the officer concluded that it was her word against his and no further action would be taken.

“And then he told me that ‘bargaining from the police’ wasn’t going to help,” Faye recalled.

“I now know that the police view a ‘cop shop’ as someone who goes from officer to officer, or station to station, until they get what they want. It is a pejorative and derogatory term used to describe someone whom the police he sees it as a nuisance.

Faye had not “shopped” her story.

The attacks either took place in different parts of the Gold Coast or she had gone to stations away from home when help was not available locally.

“For me, it was trying to find someone who would really do their job. To them, I was a fraud or a manipulator. It was disgusting. It was very aggressive. It was the first time I realized how much harm the police were doing to me and my family,” she said.

“I hadn’t heard that term before. But when he said it, I felt absolutely terrible. It was like he was saying no one believed me, no one was going to help me. Like, go away. You’re bothering us. It was intimidating.â€

In her mind, the remark sent a “clear message” about how the police viewed her and the ongoing domestic and family violence she told them about.

“I was a hassle and a nuisance, taking up their time.”

The only positive interaction Faye had with the police came after she pleaded with her local MP for help, who stepped in and escalated the matter to the highest levels.

Soon, after several harrowing years, a Criminal Investigation Branch detective was assigned to the case, and Mctiernan was arrested and charged with multiple felonies.

He pleaded guilty to 16 offenses earlier this year, including strangulation and multiple assault charges, and will be sentenced in December.

Much of that legal score was thanks to the original 90-minute audio recording that police initially dismissed.

Brushed off and ignored

Over nearly four years between 2017 and 2021, Faye had around 20 interactions with the police seeking protection from the increasing violence, threats and stalking that Mctiernan was subjected to.

“Many different stations and officers. Basically, all my interactions with the police were really poor. He was begging for help, being told not to worry about it and just keep going,” she said.

“There have been cases where even with evidence and even when there was a domestic violence warrant, they decided not to charge.”

“Instead of letting the courts decide whether he was guilty or not, the police would decide. It would be the case that, oh no, that was his excuse and we accept it, even though there was an order of protection. It was really poor.â€

In news.com.au’s new editorial series, The System, the first-hand accounts of domestic and family violence survivors are being shared to highlight the serious failures they endure when seeking help and support.

From the police to government agencies and taxpayer-funded support services, huge gaps leave survivors exposed to further harm – and can cost lives.

Faye, now an advocate for women fleeing domestic and family violence, has heard her experiences with the system repeated to her by other survivors over and over again.

She knows her case is not isolated.

It didn’t slip through the cracks in the system, but rather it sank through the open holes.

While she felt let down by many elements of the system, including Queensland Health and Education Queensland, the most serious damage was done by the police, she said.

“The kids would call, I would call, or a neighbor would call. Whatever. The police would show up, look around, get some information and then leave.â€

“There were many times when it was clear that I was in danger. It was clear from the holes in the walls and all that stuff.â€