Despite being investigated over his baby son’s murder, a Queensland police officer has received full pay for more than a year before finally being charged.

The 38-year-old senior constable was charged with murder on Saturday morning after his two-month-old son succumbed to “fairly significant injuries” at Victoria Point in Brisbane’s east in June 2014.

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Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said the baby’s death was immediately considered suspicious and the officer was suspended “about a month after the incident”.

“The usual procedure we have is when under investigation, before any charges are laid, the officers are suspended on pay,” Mr Gollschewski told reporters on Saturday.

“Now that he has been charged that will be reviewed and consideration will be given to suspension without pay.

“That’s a technical legal matter that has to be considered properly.”

Queensland Police Service pays its senior constables between $68,894 and $82,638 a year.

But Mr Gollschewski defended the amount of time the investigation took, saying infant homicides were difficult to investigate because they relied upon medical expert evidence that could take months to obtain and verify.

“This is a very tragic event with the loss of a young innocent life and the devastation of a family,” he said.

“These types of investigations are very difficult, challenging and, in this instance, quite protracted.”

He also defended the decision not to release any information about the incident before now, including the fact an officer was suspended on suspicion of a child’s murder, because detectives needed to maintain “the integrity of the investigation”.

The deputy commissioner said the lengthy investigation was aided by the Crime and Corruption Commission and various experts.

“Our community needs to have confidence, in fact great confidence, that no matter who is responsible for these types of crimes, the police service will be relentless and committed to ensuring the investigations are brought to a conclusion,” he said.

“And that the offenders are brought to justice.”

Mr Gollschewski refused to provide any details about the incident itself, saying the matter was now before the courts.

The officer is due to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday.

– AAP