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Police, they might be expected to act in accordance with the law?”

Sergeant: “Yes, it occurred to me and that would be the expectation.”

Davison: “There’s something in your notebook about Regan being VIP?”

Sergeant: “Yes. New Zealand police have a section within it that look after VIP(s), so for example the Prime Minister, witness protection . . .”

Davison: “And those would be particularly trustworthy police officers?”

Sergeant: “Yes, they should be. Yes.”

The briefing from Wormald, including the presence at the mansion of a serving police officer working as a bodyguard, was passed on by the sergeant during a telephone call to his superior, an inspector, about 5.30pm that day. From there, the sergeant and the STG inspector sketched out an appraisal of the police’s need for the STG, a critical step in approving the use of the elite group in an operation.

Although Stewart’s name was in the notebook, it was absent from the plan. The failure to make any reference to the police VIP bodyguard working for Dotcom was, the sergeant conceded, a “notable omission”.

The STG appraisal included a note from the sergeant saying the STG unit were limited in the time they had to prepare for the raid. The notes also raised issues the STG would need to consider as part of any assault on the mansion, referring particularly to the number of CCTV cameras and the possibility of Dotcom carrying a tablet with him which could be used to monitor the CCTV network.

The nugget of information had come from Orewa community constable and former police dog handler Jason Homan, whose covertly shot footage from his visit was edited and shown to the STG team before the raid. It was critical information for them, as they had no detailed plans of the mansion.

Homan’s footage included a meeting with Stewart. An assurance from him had slipped through the cracks. Were you told, Davison asked the sergeant, that Stewart had assured Homan that Dotcom was “no threat” and “was a good guy”?

It was information which would have better informed the STG about the threat they faced.

No, said the sergeant. “I can’t recall receiving that information from Mr Wormald and certainly no notes were made to that effect from me.”

Homan had also warned that Dotcom had the ability to “lock down” the mansion if intruders attempted to enter. The warning of a tablet ran

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