MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An Australian state police chief apologized to the Jewish community on Saturday after a sergeant allegedly performed an outlawed Nazi salute.
The 65-year-old instructor on domestic violence policy and law at the Victoria state police academy in Melbourne is facing charges for the gesture and for praising Nazi leader Adolf Hitler with the words, “Heil Hitler” on Tuesday and Wednesday in front of academy staff and recruits, Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said.
“I want to express just here at the outset my disappointment, my disgust, my anger at this appalling conduct,” Patton told a press conference.
“There is simply no place for this type of conduct in our society, let alone in this police force. For that reason, I want to profoundly apologize to the Jewish community but also to the community as whole,” Patton added.
Patton said the alleged behavior would exacerbate the grief and pain the Jewish community felt following the Oct. 7 anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel.
The police officer, whose name has not been released, has served for more than 40 years. She was suspended from duty on Friday and was interviewed by professional standards internal investigators on Saturday.
She will likely be charged by summons, a police statement said after Patton’s news conference. The offence carries a potential maximum penalty of 12 months in prison and a fine of up to 23,000 Australian dollars ($16,000).
Performing Nazi gestures and displaying Nazi symbols such as the swastika have been banned by various state and federal laws since 2022.
The scandal comes in a week a Melbourne judge told self-described Nazi Jacob Hersant that he will become the first person in Australia to be sentenced to prison for performing the same banned gesture when the 25-year-old appears in court next month.
In June, three soccer fans were fined for performing the salute during a Sydney match. The men were the first convicted in Australia for such offences and have lodged appeals.
The Police Association of Victoria, a police union, described the allegations as serious and said officers should be held to the same standards as the rest of the community.
“The Police Association has consistently condemned this offensive gesture and urged the government to toughen legislation and penalties against those who perform it,” a union statement said.
Anti-Defamation Commission chair Dvir Abramovich, a leading opponent of antisemitism in Australia, praised the police force’s swift response to the officer’s alleged actions.
“A Nazi salute isn’t just a gesture -- it’s a horrifying symbol of genocide, terror, and antisemitism and for a police officer to wield this emblem of hate is beyond disturbing,” he said in a statement.
Patton said the suspended officer did not have a history of extreme views and her motives were unknown.
“But the motive doesn’t matter. The conduct should not, cannot and will not be tolerated,” Patton said.
FILE- Jacob Hersant, a self-described Nazi, talks to the media outside the Melbourne Magistrates Court after he became the first person convicted in Australia of performing an outlawed Nazi salute, Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Rod McGuirk, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — Mets pitcher Kodai Senga will start Game 1 of the National League Championship Series against Jack Flaherty and the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday, continuing his comeback from injuries that have limited him to two starts this year.
New York manager Carlos Mendoza said Saturday “everybody should be available and ready to go” in his bullpen.
“So it’s Senga and then we’ll see after that," he said before the Mets held a light workout at Citi Field prior to leaving for Los Angeles.
Flaherty joined the Dodgers from Detroit at the July 30 trade deadline. The right-hander struggled in Game 2 of the NL Division Series against the San Diego Padres, giving up four earned runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Senga returned from a long layoff in the Division Series, appearing on a major league mound for the first time since late July. He started Game 1 against the Philadelphia Phillies on Oct. 5 and gave up one run over two innings in the Mets’ 6-2 win.
Senga missed the first 102 games this season due to a right shoulder capsule strain and lasted 5 1/3 innings in his lone regular-season start July 26, when he limited the Atlanta Braves to two runs before straining his left calf.
Mendoza said the next day that if the Mets "get to see (Senga) pitch again this year, that means we’re in a good spot.” The 31-year-old right-hander made just one brief minor league rehab appearance before returning in Philadelphia.
“There’s not a number I have in mind,” Senga said through an interpreter when asked about his potential pitch limit Saturday. “I’m going until they take the ball away from me and I’m going to go at 100% until then.”
Going with Senga in Game 1 — for however long — allows the Mets to maximize rest for the remainder of their rotation at this point.
Sean Manaea, who will start Game 2 on Monday at Dodger Stadium on five days' rest, has thrown a career-high 193 2/3 innings while Luis Severino has tossed 194 innings, his most since 2018. David Peterson threw a career-high 121 regular-season innings and has emerged as a pivotal bullpen piece with 6 1/3 scoreless innings in the playoffs.
“From the beginning, we wanted to put our guys in what we felt was the best position to have success considering where they’re at physically,” Mendoza said. “For Senga, we wanted to keep it as close as possible to his routine. And then with some of the other guys, like I said, it’s because of where they’re at physically and who will benefit from an extra day.”
Counting the appearance against the Phillies, Senga has made 28 of his 31 big league starts on at least five days of rest.
Senga might not be the only unexpected contributor for the Cinderella Mets in the NLCS. Jeff McNeil, whose regular season ended Sept. 6 because of a broken right wrist sustained when he was hit by a pitch, went 1 for 4 with a walk while playing second base Friday night for the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League.
Mendoza said McNeil was scheduled to play right field Saturday for Scottsdale and that there was “a good chance he’ll be on the roster” for the NLCS as long as he remains healthy.
“Kind of hit me, I think it was yesterday, when we were going through a lot of these conversations and I went back to when I announced that Senga was done for the regular season and then when Jeff gets hit and we get the results, it’s broke and he’s done,” Mendoza said. “And here we were yesterday, having those conversations. It was a good feeling — pretty incredible. I’m just glad that they are healthy now.”
This story corrects the number of big league starts Senga has made in his career.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
New York Mets pitcher Kodai Senga walks to the dugout during the second inning of Game 1 of a baseball NL Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
New York Mets pitcher Kodai Senga shags balls in the outfield before Game 3 of the National League baseball playoff series against the Philadelphia Phillies, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
