A New South Wales police officer unlawfully arrested a man, choked him, made offensive comments, and tried to delete the man’s recording of the incident, the police watchdog has found. The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC) recommended that two officers involved be fired and is seeking advice on possible criminal charges. In 2021, the man, called Civ1 in the LECC report, went to a police station to report a car accident. The talk grew heated and he was arrested and charged with several offences. Two years later, the defence played Civ1's phone recording with CCTV footage, proving police statements were false. The magistrate expressed "grave concerns" about officer conduct, triggering an internal inquiry deemed "inadequate". LECC’s Operation Somnus revealed the officer in charge unlawfully arrested Civ1, choked him, and made offensive remarks. Officers falsely claimed Civ1 swore at them. Civ1 had a mobile recording police tried to delete. The officer in charge fabricated statements, shared evidence improperly, and deleted CCTV footage showing the phone being removed. Another officer copied statements from the first. LECC recommended disciplining the internal inquiry officer. Commissioner Anina Johnson said, "honest and accurate police statements are fundamental to the proper functioning of the criminal justice system." She added the deception only surfaced because Civ1’s recording remained. LECC found Som1 deleted the recording, cut six seconds from evidence footage, and both Som1 and Som2 fabricated evidence and gave false testimony under oath. The commission will ask the Director of Public Prosecutions to consider charges including perjury, fabricating evidence, tampering, and assault. The internal inquiry officer admitted he lacked resources and was ill-equipped for the investigation. The report also raised serious concerns about NSW police practices in statement preparation, brief reviews, and CCTV privacy measures.