VIDEO footage on a mobile phone seized from one of three Broncos players involved in a sexual assault investigation allegedly shows drug use.
The Australian reported that Queensland police are believed to be preparing to widen their investigation into the alleged sexual assault of a woman in a Brisbane nightclub toilet on September 13 after discovering the footage on one of the rugby league players' mobiles.
It is understood that the footage shows suspected drug use, although sources told the newspaper police have yet to determine the identities of those who are believed to have been captured on the video.
Read more on the new Broncos claim
DPP may look at case
A SEXUAL assault investigation involving three Broncos could go to the Director of Public Prosecutions to insulate police against possible bias claims.
Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson yesterday said "regardless of the outcome" all evidence could be sent to an outside body for advice.
Mr Atkinson said that would ensure the public had confidence in the police department's final decision.
"I'm not saying it's likely, but it's possible.
"So it may be that if I choose to do that, and again that would be because of the public interest and the importance of public confidence in the determination that is made, that we wouldn't be in a position to give you a conclusion until that was done," he said.
The State Opposition seized on the move as a "slap in the face" for experienced detectives who had the "capacity and background experience to make a determination".
"I think it's a case that the Minister and the Police Commissioner don't have faith in the detectives who have spent years in the police force," acting justice spokesman Mark McArdle said.
A Queensland Law Society spokesman said police often sent matters to the DPP for a second opinion. "The Police Commissioner is following proper procedure," he said.
Queensland Council for Civil Liberties vice-president Terry O'Gorman supported the move, saying officers involved could feel pressure to lay charges to justify their investigation.
"We support, in high-profile cases that attract a degree of controversy, for a decision to prosecute to be made by the DPP.
"It simply gives an arm's-length degree of independence to the charging process," Mr O'Gorman said.
A woman, 24, alleges three Broncos players assaulted her in a disabled toilet at the Alhambra Lounge in Fortitude Valley on September 13.
The investigation is expected to be completed within a week.
Michael Wray
