Victoria Police has suspended an officer over an “appalling” privacy breach after he allegedly shared unauthorised images of former AFL coach Dean Laidley in custody inside a police station.

Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton said it was expected the officer would also be hit with criminal charges over the incident.

The photos were taken of former North Melbourne AFL coach Dean Laidley, who was remanded in custody over the weekend on allegations of stalking as well as other charges.

The 53-year-old from Moonee Ponds was arrested on Saturday night after an incident outside a St Kilda home about 9:00pm.

The 1996 North Melbourne premiership player faced Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Sunday.

The father of three did not apply for bail and remained in custody on Sunday evening.

Photo allegedly shared in WhatsApp group

Deputy Commissioner Patton said a male senior constable had been suspended with pay for allegedly taking the photos, which could constitute a breach of the Victoria Police Act for the unauthorised disclosure of information.

“It is expected he will be charged in due course,” Deputy Commissioner Patton said.

“He will also be subject to internal disciplinary action.”

Deputy Commissioner Patton said the criminal charge allows for penalties of up to two years in jail or close to $40,000 in fines, while the internal investigation could result in the officer being fined, demoted or sacked.

He said he was “appalled” that a Victoria Police officer had taken the photos.

“It’s not an authorised photograph and should not have been taken,” he said.

“It’s unacceptable conduct.

At a press conference this afternoon, Deputy Commissioner Patton said the senior constable had only recently been interviewed and it was still unclear exactly how many officers were involved.

He said he believed the photograph was shared on WhatsApp but it was unclear how the photos came to be on social media.

“It could be around six [people] that have had the photograph disseminated to them,” he said.

“We’ll continue that investigation. It is early days yet.”

Victoria Police apologises for ‘appalling’ breach of privacy

He said it was not clear whether the people who received the photos on WhatsApp were police members or civilians.

“That’s why we’re interrogating his phones,” he said.

“The investigation will explore who has committed any criminal offence in terms of forwarding or accessing information.

“If other [Victoria Police] members have, if you like, disseminated unauthorised information then they will potentially be facing exactly the same charges as this senior constable is.”

Deputy Commissioner Patton also apologised on behalf of the police force.

“The photograph has been taken inside a custody area, I understand, inside a police station,” he said.

“It’s not an authorised photograph and should not have been taken.

“Clearly we have let down that person who those photos were taken of. We’ve breached their privacy and I do apologise on behalf of Victoria Police.”

He said it was “one of the most appalling breaches” by an officer that he could remember.

“I cannot recall a breach of someone’s privacy like this, an individual when they’re in custody,” he said.

“It’s unlawful and criminal conduct and that’s the way we’re treating it.”

A police spokeswoman earlier said the Professional Standards Command had begun a “thorough investigation” into the photos and would be “looking at all aspects of the matter”.

“This is one of the most significant breaches of a person’s privacy and Victoria Police will not tolerate this sort of behaviour,” the spokeswoman said in a statement.

The matter has also been referred to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC), Deputy Commissioner Patton said.

Lawyer ‘outraged’ over photos of client

Mr Laidley’s lawyer Dee Giannopolous wrote about the images on Sunday night, saying on Twitter she was “outraged” pictures of her client were allegedly “taken by some police officer, on the sly, when in custody in interview”.

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The director of the legal firm, Bill Doogue, described the apparent leak as “disgraceful”.

“Taking photos unlawfully and sharing them. And these were sneaky photos while in [a] police interview in [a] police station by a police officer,” he said.

“Police should investigate and those involved pull [the images] down immediately.”

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Mr Laidley played for the West Coast Eagles from 1987 to 1992 and North Melbourne between 1993 and 1997.

He was the senior coach at North Melbourne from 2003 to 2009 before holding assistant coaching roles at Port Adelaide, St Kilda and Carlton.

He finished his last AFL coaching role at the end of the 2015 season.

He is due to face court again on May 11.

AAP/ABC

The man charged with attempted murder in the early-morning shooting of two people at the Syracuse Regional Transportation Center was assaulted in 2014 by former New England Patriots football player Aaron Hernandez while the two were in jail.

Hernandez, who was convicted of murder, died of an apparent suicide in April 2017.

The assault occurred at the Bristol County House of Correction in Dartmouth in February 2014. Hernandez was indicted on charges of assault and battery in connection with the incident, according to media reports.

Booker would not testify in the case, as his lawyer said he didn’t want to be a rat, according to a report in The Herald News.

A man with the same name and age was charged Sunday morning in the Syracuse shooting.

Sgt. Jon A. Seeber, speaking for the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office, confirmed the mug shot of suspect Andrew Booker, 31, of 6 Bartlett Lane, East Wareham, MA is the same person pictured in media reports of the Hernandez jail incident.

The Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office does not release mug shots.

Booker, 31, is scheduled to be arraigned later today in connection with the shooting. Booker is charged with two counts of attempted murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, Fitzpatrick said Sunday morning. Booker had an illegal handgun, Fitzpatrick said.

Booker pointed his gun, aimed and fired at a person who fled, but the gun misfired, Fitzpatrick said. Booker then rechecked his gun, chambered a round and fired, possibly at the fleeing person, the DA said. Instead, the shot hit a passenger in the leg, who has since been treated and released from the hospital, he said.

Booker then fired another round, striking a security guard in the midsection, Fitzpatrick said. The guard was transported to a Syracuse hospital, and is expected to survive. The guard has not been identified.

Booker was still armed when police arrived, Fitzpatrick said. He surrendered to police after a sheriff’s deputy fired at him and missed, the DA said.

Booker, who arrived on a bus at the transportation center early Sunday, has a criminal record in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, Fitzpatrick said.

According to TMZ, Aaron Hernandez struck a fellow inmate – Andrew Booker then age 25 – in 2014 after a verbal dispute at the jail. According to the report, Booker had been arrested by a police gang unit in September 2014 with 16 bags of cocaine and a loaded gun in his waistband.

Booker allegedly exchanged words with Hernandez before the two men later came across each other in a hallway in the unit, according to the report. Booker was handcuffed, while Hernandez was not. Hernandez was charged with assault and battery in connection with the incident, according to a report in the Sun-Chronicle.

That report has a mug shot of Booker which matches the photo of Booker charged in Syracuse today, Seeber said.

Another photograph also appears in a March 21 media report in which Booker, same age and address, was charged with breaking and entering into a building.

Elizabeth Doran covers education, suburban government and development, breaking news and more. Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact her anytime 315-470-3012 or email edoran@syracuse.com