A former police officer dismissed for fabricating an intelligence report in retaliation against a TikTok user has failed in his attempt to rejoin NSW Police.
Meleck Lababidi last month challenged his removal from the force, arguing the decision was “harsh, unreasonable and unjust”, but his bid was unsuccessful.
As part of his application to the Industrial Relations Commission, Lababidi also asked to be reinstated to his former role as a constable.
Lababidi was directed to leave NSW Police in November 2024 by then commissioner Karen Webb, who said she had lost “confidence” in his “suitability” to remain in the organisation.
He had earlier been stationed at Bankstown Police Station before being moved to Burwood in December 2021, following an investigation linked to a confrontation with a member of the public.
The removal order issued by the commissioner centred on two allegations connected to Lababidi’s actions on March 24, 2022, while he was serving at Burwood Police Station.
Court documents state Lababidi generated a false or “misleading” police intelligence entry about a member of the public who had recorded an encounter with one of his colleagues and posted it on TikTok in a way that cast the officer unfavourably.
Lababidi also accessed details about the same person through the NSW Police COPS database — the Computerised Operational Policing System — for reasons not connected to his official policing duties.
A police officer who was sacked after creating a false intelligence report as revenge against a TikToker has lost his bid to return to NSW Police. (Stock image of officer unrelated to the case)
Meleck Lababidi had been transferred from Bankstown Police Station in 2021
On March 20, 2022, Lababidi’s friend and colleague, former Constable Soueid from Bankstown Station, had an interaction with the member of the public, who is referred to in the IRC decision as KD.
This interaction was filmed by KD and uploaded to TikTok, with captions suggesting that the video showed police harassment and brutality.
The Daily Mail does not suggest that this is true, only that KD made the suggestion and that his TikTok was mentioned in public court documents.
In the days following, Soueid and Lababidi discussed the interaction with KD and subsequent TikTok videos over text messages extracted by the Police Commissioner.
In an email, Soueid also wrote that the incident occurred near an address associated with a person who was noted by the Police Commissioner to be ‘well known to police’ with ‘connections to an organised crime network’.
According to court documents, Lababidi wrote in texts sent to Soueid: ‘What a f**king gronk, I wanna smash the c***, I’m gonna target him so hard’.
Soueid then replied, per the judgement: ‘Yeah bro entitled c***, nothing without their tik tok, They hide behind their tik tok accounts, like little b*****s.’
Lababidi then wrote: ‘Oi wahyat Allah [I swear by God] I’m gonna target him now… The intel I’m gonna do is gonna make him regret his life.’
On March 24, Lababidi created an intelligence report, recording KD as a person of interest with ‘possible drug supply ring involvement’ and a ‘possible associate’ of an organised crime network figure.
The Commissioner’s removal order was grounded in two allegations arising from Lababidi’s conduct on March 24, 2022, while he was working at Burwood Police Station
Lababidi wrote in the report, according to the IRC decision: ‘Intell [sic] created for officer awareness and future reference, consider stopping and search [KD].’
That same evening, per the published judgement, Lababidi texted Soueid saying: ‘Almost finished that intell, smashed the c***’.
The intelligence report was then sent to State Crime Command, Drug and Firearms Squad, Criminal Groups Squad, the Australian Crime Commission, and the neighbouring police stations.
He was served with a suspension notice in September 2023 pending an investigation into his alleged conduct.
In July 2024, Lababidi was served with a notice outlining the allegations against him, and informing him the Commissioner was considering his suitability as a police officer.
In response, Lababidi stated that he had ‘no reason to make a malicious report’ and did so ‘in good faith to assist Soueid’. He added that his colleagues often sought his assistance in preparing intelligence reports due to his ‘passion for proactive policing’.
In referring to his message exchange with Soueid, Lababidi said that while they ‘may seem to be an exaggerated response to the TikTok video’, they were intended as ‘humorous and not malicious’.
On 26 November 2024, after considering both the allegations and Lababidi’s response, the Commissioner formally served Lababidi with a removal order from NSW Police.
At last month’s hearing, lawyers for Lababidi argued the removal order was disproportionate and unjust because the Commissioner had failed to make a finding of dishonesty.
Lababidi also argued he was only at Burwood temporarily and, because he was still attached to Bankstown, his conduct was relevant to his official duties.
The judgement states that the Commissioner formed the view that Lababidi’s ‘improper purpose was to inflict retribution on, or take action against KD’ over the TikTok video by having police target him.
The Commissioner also found that in writing the intelligence report, Lababidi had suggested an association between KD and an organised crime figure, which was ‘entirely fabricated’.
Justice David Chin rejected the claim that Lababidi had acted in good faith to help his colleague, and described his conduct as ‘a clear abuse of a police officer’s duty and power’.
‘The text messages establish that the plan for revenge had been hatched well before he accessed the COPS [Computerised Operational Policing System] database,’ Justice Chin said.
Justice Chin said it was possible to sympathise with young and inexperienced police officers subjected to derision by ‘belligerent members of the public’ posting them online.
However, he said this must be weighed against the importance of maintaining integrity in the NSW Police Force.
Justice Chin accepted that while Lababidi ‘loved being a police officer’, his disciplinary record demonstrated that he ‘struggled at times with various aspects of his responsibilities’.
While attached to Burwood Police Area Command, Lababidi had received several more complaints over his conduct, the court documents state.
One incident saw him placed on a six-month conduct management plan following an allegation of use of excessive force, which was later withdrawn.
He was also required to undergo further training following an incident in which he told a woman mid-arrest she was ‘uneducated’, and received another complaint for failing to adequately investigate and case manage a matter that later proceeded to trial.
In 2023, Lababidi underwent formal counselling after failing to follow proper Taser protocol in an incident involving a dog, and then lodging a falsified account of what happened.
He was also restricted to station duties for three months after a criminal complaint arising from a physical altercation with a member of the public at Burwood Police Station.
However, this complaint is understood to have later been withdrawn.
Ultimately, Lababidi’s application for a review was dismissed and the Police Commissioner’s removal order was upheld.
