A FORMER police scenes-of-crime officer, who claims he was left for years in a job that exposed him to too many mutilated and dead bodies, is suing the State Government for $1.25 million.

Sean McArdle claims nobody asked him why he voluntarily surrendered his service revolver in 2006, after he secretly made a suicide attempt at a police station.

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The former sergeant’s Supreme Court claim says as a scenes-of-crime officer from 1996 to 2012 he was repeatedly exposed to traumatic critical incidents.

“I was sick of seeing dead bodies. I needed to get out, but I continued and did lots of major jobs,’’ Mr McArdle, 48, a police officer for 24 years, said.

In 2006, he applied for an alternative position doing surveillance, telling an interview panel he was not coping with exposure to human remains.

Although a psychological assessment concluded he was suicidal, he was sent back to do operational scenes of crime duties in Brisbane, without any treatment, his claim says.

Mr McArdle said in late 2006 he intended to shoot himself while on duty at Boondall, and put his service revolver to his head, only stopping after being disturbed.

He then handed in his firearm, because he felt it was not safe for him to keep it, with no questions asked.

After he was transferred to Sunshine Coast scenes-of-crime from 2007, he said he told a superintendent he was having extended periods off work because of the psychiatric stress he was suffering.

After he broke down, he had five months off work but was put back on scenes-of- crime operational duties on his return to the force.

In 2011, Mr McArdle was assigned to be a forensic services training officer and asked to implement a training program for a senior constable returning to work after maternity leave.

His supervisors decided he was not coping and he was issued with disciplinary notices of improvement.

Mr McArdle claims that in November 2011 a senior sergeant told him he believed he was experiencing a mental breakdown and he went on leave until early 2012.

He claims on his return to work for the first time the service sent him for a psychiatric assessment to see if he was mentally fit to cope with scenes of crime work.

It found he had psychiatric symptoms and was at risk of further injuries, but was not offered alternate work, he claims.

Mr McArdle has not worked since being medically retired in August 2013.

“I begged to be put in alternate roles that would take me away from death and from people I perceived were using compliance as a weapon against me,’’ he said.

The State Government is yet to respond to the claim.