A police officer who walked off the job claims he was unable to return to the office three months later because he had been suffering from anxiety attacks brought on by news that he was to be transferred.But the lawyer representing the Police Commissioner at a Human Rights Commission discrimination hearing argued that former Sergeant Ian DeAllie had another reason for not wanting to hand over the keys to his desk after going on sick leave — the officer had squirrelled away hundreds of crime reports without actioning them and did not want this “dereliction of duty” to be discovered.Mr DeAllie, who is overweight, claims that senior officers discriminated against him when they ordered him to be transferred off the crime desk to a uniformed post in Somerset in June, 2006. Mr DeAllie argued that the move was made after management learned that his family had a history of heart disease and that the married father of two was suffering from stress at home.Concerned that he may be susceptible to a heart attack, they effectively demoted him to a post that had less responsibility — and as a result, unlawfully discriminated against him on the grounds of a “perceived disability”.Senior officers maintain that the transfer was an operational decision, made after Mr DeAllie, in a confrontational meeting with Superintendent Paul Wright on June 13, 2006, claimed that he only wanted to work regular hours. A welfare officer was seconded to Mr DeAllie after Superintendent Wright was told that the sergeant was suffering from stress, but this was done ten days after the transfer decision, they insist.At yesterday’s hearing, lawyer Alan Dunch questioned why Mr DeAllie failed to return to work in order to hand over the keys to his desk in September 2006 after he had been on sick leave for three months.“I was experiencing severe anxiety,” Mr DeAllie replied adding that he would be struck by panic attacks so debilitating whenever he went out, he was unable to walk.But Mr Dunch scoffed at that explanation, claiming that Mr DeAllie had another motive.“All of this is rubbish — there was a very real reason why you didn’t want to hand over that desk wasn’t there? The real reason was because you knew that the moment someone opened it they were going to find precisely what was found — some 700 active reports and documents that you had totally disregarded over a number of years in complete dereliction of your duty,” Mr Dunch said.To emphasis his point, Mr Dunch produced a colour-coded spreadsheet detailing the 700 documents that Mr DeAllie had failed to process.Mr DeAllie responded that his supervisors had always been aware of all documents that he had received.But Mr Dunch continued: “Do you not understand that this is a case where, regrettably, you have convinced yourself that you were discriminated against because somebody thought you were fat.“You just don’t get it. You were transferred because of your conduct and the belief that you were not capable of doing the job and you were subsequently referred to welfare because of a concern for your welfare.”Mr DeAllie was eventually retired from the force on medical grounds on the recommendation of a psychiatrist.The hearing also heard testimony from retired police sergeant Terry Maxwell, a close friend and colleague of both Mr DeAllie and Superintendent Wright.The hearing continues.