Christchurch lawyer Grant Cameron said today he is acting for a "group of officers who formerly were part of the management team'' at the city's south police station.
The group has put Mr Marshall on notice of "imminent defamation action'' and Mr Cameron said legal proceedings would be filed early in the new year.
The officers are upset police management didn't correct the public perception that there were "leadership and operational'' problems at the station, where former Constable Gordon Meyer was based.
This week Meyer was sentenced to nine months' home detention for bribery and indecent assault. He told a suspected drink-driver she could avoid being charged if she performed oral sex on him and groped an 18-year-old while giving her a lift in his patrol car.
Mr Cameron highlighted comments Police Assistant Commissioner Grant Nicholls made last month as particularly concerning.
"Essentially the position is one where police leaders have been content to let media believe there were leadership and operational problems at the Christchurch South station at the relevant time, and did so when their own inquiry had already established this to be completely false,'' Mr Cameron said.
