THE CROWN v McDONOUGH
CHARGE:
The accused, Blair McDonough, has been charged with impersonating a police officer under
section 16(1) of the Police Act 1892 (Western Australia).
The charge is:
THAT on Saturday 12 March, 2005 at Northbridge Blair McDonough did pretend or
assert to be a member of the Police Force.
The accused has pleaded not guilty to the charge.
WITNESSES:
The prosecution witness is Ms Natalie Portman of 27B Palmerston Street, Northbridge.
The defence witness is the accused, Mr Blair McDonough of 31 Second Avenue, Mount
Lawley.
THE LEGISLATION:
Police Act 1892 (Western Australia).
16. Personating or attempting to bribe etc., members of the Force
(1) If any person, not being a member of the Police Force, shall have in his possession any
arms or ammunition, or any article of clothing, accoutrements, or appointments supplied
to any member of the Police Force and shall not be able satisfactorily to account for his
possession thereof, or shall put on or assume the dress, name, designation, or description
of any member of the Police Force, or shall pretend or assert that he is a member of
such Force, or shall give, or offer, or promise to give any bribe, recompense, or reward,
or shall make any collusive agreement with any member of the Police Force to induce
him to neglect his duty, or to conceal or connive at any act whereby any rule, order, or
regulation relating to the Police Force in operation in the said State may be evaded, every
person so offending shall, in addition to any other punishment to which he may be liable
for such offence, forfeit for every such offence, on conviction thereof, a sum not
exceeding $4,000 or may, either instead of or in addition to such forfeiture, be imprisoned
for a term not exceeding 12 months.
(2) On the trial of a person charged with an offence under subsection (1) the averment in the
charge that he was not at some particular time a member of the Police Force is sufficient
evidence of the fact until the contrary is proved.
The charge is tried summarily.
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Prosecution Witness Statement: Natalie PORTMAN
1. I am 22 years of age. I live at 27B Palmerston Street, Northbridge and have lived there
since March 2003.
2. I live there with my boyfriend, Jamie Oliver – the famous television cook. We have been
together for about a year and a half.
3. I work as a model with Chadwick Model Management. I have appeared in many
magazines, television advertisements and have most recently also made my debut as an
actress on a Hollywood Blockbuster movie.
4. On Saturday 12 March 2005 at around 9:00pm, I took my dog for a walk around the
neighbourhood. I do this a few times a week. I need to regularly exercise to maintain my look
for photo shoots.
5. As I was walking down Lake Street, a man, whom I believe to be Blair McDonough, came
up to me wearing a police uniform.
6. The uniform looked real and I believed that it was real at the time. He was even wearing a
name badge that said “Sgt. McDonough”.
7. Men often approach me asking for my phone number when I am out in public. I am
flattered by all the attention, but I never give out my contact details. I am very much in love
with my boyfriend.
8. Mr McDonough came up to me and said, “I’m investigating a theft that just took place on
this street. I need you to give me your name, address, and telephone number so I can contact
you to organise an interview.”
9. He handed me a small book and I wrote down my details. I handed it back to him and said,
“I’m happy to help, officer. Feel free to call me.” I thought that the police might need to ask
me if I had seen a particular person or car or something like that.
10. I walked straight home after the encounter. I thought it probably was not safe to be
walking around if there was a thief in the area.
11. On the following Sunday, 20 March 2005, I received a phone call from Mr McDonough.
He said that it was Blair McDonough calling. I said, “Hello Sergeant, how can I help you?”
Mr McDonough said, “You still owe me that interview.” The way he phrased it sounded odd,
but I just thought he was being friendly.
12. We organised to meet a local café called Tarts.
13. When I got to the café, Mr McDonough was waiting for me and he was not wearing a
uniform.
14. I said to Mr McDonough, “Casual day today is it?” He laughed and said, “Sit down, can I
get you a drink? I’m so glad you agreed to go on a date with me.”
15. I slapped him across the face and walked straight out of the café.
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16. It was then that I realised he had pretended to be a police officer just to get my phone
number. I would never have gone on a date with Mr McDonough.
17. About a week later I went to tell my friend, Carrie Fischer, who is also a model, about
what happened. She lives around the corner from me.
18. Before I had the opportunity to tell her about the incident, she said, “You’ll never guess
what happened to me the other day. This security guard down at the City Myer Store
approached me and said he was investigating a theft in the store. He asked for my details and
of course I gave them to him, but it turned out he was just after a date. I was so embarrassed.
What a creep.”
19. I said, “Did he ask you to meet him at Tarts?” She said that he did. I said, “It sounds like
the same guy tried the same thing with me.” I asked her if she knew his name and she said,
“His Myer name badge said ‘Blair McDonough’”. That confirmed for me that it was the same
person.
20. Ms Fischer had made a complaint to the Police, but they did not feel they could charge
him with anything. It was because of this that I decided I should make a complaint to the
Police to try and stop him from tricking women into giving him their details.
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Defence Witness Statement: Blair McDONOUGH
1. I am 25 years of age. I live at 31 Second Avenue, Mount Lawley and have lived there since
November 2004.
2. I work as a Loss Prevention Officer for Myer Limited. I am attached to the Perth City
Myer store.
3. On Saturday 12 March 2005, I attended a birthday party at 40 Lake Street in Northbridge.
My friend, Ryan Moloney, was celebrating his 30th Birthday. He had set a fancy dress theme.
4. I decided that I would go to the party dressed as a police officer. I had always wanted to be
a police officer, but I had failed the entry exams.
5. I went to ‘Strange Apparitions’, a costume shop in the City. I chose the most realistic
costume I could find. For an extra 5 dollars, they would even make you a name badge with
your name on it. I decided to spend the extra money.
6. I got to the party at around 7:00pm. I had a few drinks while I talked with my friends.
7. Sometime after 8:30pm I went outside for a cigarette. As I finished my cigarette, I saw a
woman walking down the street with her dog. I think it was a poodle. I now know her to be
Natalie Portman.
8. I was instantly attracted to her. Ms Portman is beautiful. I decided that I would take the
opportunity and talk to her.
9. I went up to her and said, “I’m investigating a theft that just took place. You’ve stolen my
heart. I need your name, address and telephone number so I can contact you for an extended
interview.” I said all this trying to sound pathetically sweet, hoping she would say yes. Ms
Portman said, “I’d be happy to, “officer”. Call me.” She accentuated the ‘officer’ and gave
me a cheeky smile; she seemed to be playing along.
10. I handed her a little book I keep numbers in. She filled it out and gave it back to me. She
had written her name as Natalie Portman.
11. Ms Portman continued down the street and I went back inside to the party. I eventually
returned home about 2:00am Sunday morning.
12. I called Ms Portman on Sunday 20 March 2005. When she answered the phone I said, “Hi,
its Blair McDonough here”. There was some interference as I was on the mobile and I heard
her say, “How can I help you?” Referring to when we met on the Saturday night, I said, “You
still owe me that interview”. I asked her to meet me at a café called Tarts, which is not far
from where she lived.
13. It was about 3:00pm and I was waiting at the café for Ms Portman to arrive. She was
about 20 minutes late by the time she arrived.
14. Ms Portman came up to me and said, “Casual day today is it?” I thought she was having a
go at my favourite Hawaiian shirt. I laughed and said, “Please sit down, can I get you a
drink? I’m so glad you agreed to go on this date”.
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15. Ms Portman looked shocked as she stood up and slapped me. She left me at the café,
feeling rather embarrassed.
16. This was the second time within the month that something similar had happened to me, at
the very same café. Another woman I had met at work walked out on me at the café.
17. A few days later I was shopping with my friend, Carla Bonner, and we walked past a
stand of magazines. The Cleo magazine caught my eye. I said to Ms Bonner, “That’s her!
That’s the crazy bitch who slapped me at Tarts!” I had already told her the story of what
happened. Ms Bonner said “I didn’t realise you meant that Natalie Portman. She is well
known for leading men on. I think she does it for fun. She seems to get off on having all the
men thinking they can have her and then shutting them down.”
18. If I had known about her flirtatious reputation, I would never have approached her in the
first place.
19. On Monday 4 April 2005, two police officers interviewed me at my home. They said that
Ms Portman claimed that I pretended to be a police officer conducting enquiries for the
purpose of obtaining her contact details. I denied this.
20. The police said that I would be charged with impersonating a police officer.
21. I have no criminal record.
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