Two policemen danced and hugged with several women at a swingers party just hours before members of the Critical Incident Response Team stormed Inflation nightclub and shot a couple last month.
CCTV footage obtained by Fairfax Media shows the male officers appearing to enjoy the attention of at least four women dressed provocatively at the Saints and Sinners Ball on July 8.
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Police dance with swingers just hours before shooting
Two policemen danced with several women at the Inflation nightclub Saints and Swingers Ball just hours before members of the Critical Incident Response Team shot two patrons last month.
At one point a woman "twerks" against a policeman, while his colleague embraces another female patron for more than a minute. Both men are armed and in police uniform.
The two officers make no attempt to rebuff the women during the 10-minute interlude near the club's dance floor.
The video footage, which is expected to cause further embarrassment for Victoria Police, was taken at 1.17am - about 90 minutes before police received an anonymous triple zero call about a man armed with a gun at the function.
Dale Ewins, 35, was in possession of a toy gun, which had been inspected and approved by security staff when he entered the venue.
Mr Ewins and his partner Zita Sukys, 37, were both shot by heavily armed CIRT officers, who entered the club at 3.53am.
Inflation nightclub manager Robert Buck said police routinely inspected the Saints and Sinners Ball. But he questioned the motivation behind their visits.
"Until last month, there's never been a problem. They'd drop by for a 'perv' and there's a couple who sometimes get very hands on," Mr Buck said.
"They take community engagement to a new level," he said.
Fairfax Media recently revealed that Mr Ewins and Ms Sukys had launched civil action against Victoria Police seeking a massive damages pay out.
"It appears Victoria Police believed it was appropriate to storm the venue with a team of about 10 Critical Incident Response Team members and within 32 seconds, start shooting our clients," said Kim Price of Melbourne law firm Arnold Thomas & Becker.
Mr Ewins, who worked as a hospitality manager on the Bass Coast, was shot "multiple times in his back" before he was Tasered and assaulted by police, according to his lawyer.
He underwent emergency surgery to remove part of his bowel, and recently underwent the first of several operations to reconstruct his shoulder. Ms Sukys required extensive surgery for two serious leg wounds.
Police had responded to "a number of phone calls in relation to the male with the firearm, including from the venue," according to Superintendent Lisa Hardeman.
The plastic gun was part of a costume worn by Mr Ewins, who was dressed as Batman villain the Joker, while Mr Sukys came as Harley Quinn, popularised in the movie Suicide Squad.
Following the incident, Superintendent Hardeman accused Mr Ewins of aiming the fake gun at officers.
"If you look at all the circumstances when a gun is aimed at you, and you ask somebody to drop the gun and that does not occur, you need to make a split-second decision to protect yourself," she said.
On the morning of the shooting, police took out a warrant to seize a CCTV hard drive from Inflation that accused Mr Ewins of assaulting police, conduct endangering life and possession of a prohibited firearm.
However, a month after the shooting, Mr Ewins has not been charged with any offence.
The shooting is the subject of ongoing investigations by Victoria's Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission and Victoria Police's Professional Standards Command.
A Victoria Police spokeswoman said that all police officers who attended the club on the night of the shooting would form part of the investigation by Professional Standards Command and IBAC .
"Police members are expected to attend licensed venues and are regularly approached by patrons who engage them in conversation," the spokeswoman said.
"Police are expected, at all times, to conduct themselves professionally."