The owner of Inflation, the King Street nightclub where a couple was shot by police last month, says a long-running campaign is being waged against her partner, Victoria's senior drugs officer.
Martha Tsamis has been in a seven-year relationship with Detective Inspector Phil Harrison, who heads the state's drugs taskforce.
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CCTV: nightclub 'Joker' shot after 32 seconds
Footage shows heavily armed police storming Inflation nightclub where they shoot a man and woman.
Their relationship has been well-known inside Victoria Police for more than five years.
Ms Tsamis is embroiled in a protracted legal dispute with Victoria Police and is suing the state government for defamation over claims Assistant Commissioner Brett Guerin called Inflation a "honeypot" for drug dealers.
She says Mr Harrison has become collateral damage in the feud and officers within Victoria Police are using leaks to the media and anonymous complaints to wage a campaign against her partner.
Anonymous complaints against her partner were made to police in 2010, which led to Mr Harrison being placed on "gardening leave" for 18 months, she said.
The complaints were thoroughly investigated and found to be without foundation. Mr Harrison was reinstated and later promoted.
On Thursday, News Corp reported police had received a complaint about a "perceived conflict of interest"Â in the investigation into the shooting of two patrons by police at Inflation on July 8.
Police would not elaborate on the perceived conflict of interest, but it is understood to relate to Ms Tsamis' relationship with Mr Harrison.
Fairfax Media understands the lead investigator on the nightclub shooting case was a former drug squad colleague of Mr Harrison.
The investigator was removed from the case, after a complaint from Ms Tsamis' lawyer about his conduct and the history between the two officers.Â
Assistant Commissioner Guerin, head of the Professional Standards Command, removed himself from the shooting investigation due to his involvement in the defamation case brought by Ms Tsamis.
On Thursday morning, a police spokesman confirmed the perceived conflict of interest "does not impact on the investigation and the investigation remains ongoing".
"Investigation into the perceived conflict of interest issue will form part of the oversight being conducted by Professional Standards Command and the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission," the spokesman said.
Ms Tsamis said "every police commissioner since 2010 has been aware of our relationship" and reports to the contrary were deceiving.Â
"This is a story that is designed to harm and distract from the actual story – why police shot two innocent people."Â
In a media statement released Thursday, Ms Tsamis said several anonymous complaints had been made over several years about Mr Harrison by police attempting to undermine their colleague.
"I have the utmost confidence in the integrity of my partner, and this has been vindicated by previous investigations into anonymous complaints by police officers against him, in which he was completely exonerated," she said.
"I can assure those officers that my resilience is strong and I will not be intimidated or threatened to back off in my quest for justice."
She said some police officers had been waging a campaign against her and her partner since 2009.
In 2013 and 2014, senior officers leaked information including confidential files to News Corp in a campaign against Inflation, Ms Tsamis said.
A senior officer also made a complaint to the Professional Standards Command in relation to Ms Tsamis "receiving information and assistance from a police officer whom I had more than a friendly relationship with," she said.
"It is clear now the police behind this action must be dealt with immediately," she said.
Police declined to comment on any of Ms Tsamis' allegations.
Ms Tsamis has referred the allegations to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission, she said.
She called on the commission and Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton to publicly clear her and her partner's names.
"My partner and I deserve nothing less than their full public support in this matter, and protection from further attacks," she said.