A Victorian police officer accused of assaulting a man inside the Mallacoota police station, near the New South Wales border, has been committed to stand trial in the County Court.
Key points:
A Victorian police sergeant is facing five charges after a man in custody was hospitalised
The court heard the altercation was sparked by a thrown shoe
The alleged victim was left with a number of fractured vertebrae in his back
Sergeant Andrew David Scott has pleaded not guilty to the alleged assault of Graham Boadel inside the station's interview room on September 14, 2017, following a three-day committal hearing at the Bairnsdale Magistrates' Court.
He is facing five charges, including recklessly causing serious injury, intentionally causing injury and unlawful assault.
Mr Boadel was hospitalised after the alleged attack, and the court heard subsequent scans showed he had a number of fractured vertebrae in his back.
The court heard the two men have a history stretching back more than a decade, with Mr Boadel pleading guilty to assaulting Sergeant Scott in 2007.
The three-day hearing marked the second time a committal into the matter had been held.
A previous committal in February was aborted after a technical glitch resulted in the recording of the entire first day being lost.
Sparked by thrown shoe
The court heard that on September 14, 2017, Mr Boadel was taken into custody by Sergeant Scott and Senior Constable Richard Preston to make a statement in relation to allegations of stalking and breaching a personal safety order.
He was taken to the Mallacoota police station's interview room to make a statement, but the interview was put on hold when Mr Boadel's lawyer was unavailable.
The court heard the station's cells had been decommissioned and the interview room was commonly used as a makeshift cell where Mr Boadel would be held until he could give his statement.
Sergeant Scott asked Mr Boadel to hand over his belt and shoes as a safety measure, prompting Mr Boadel to slam his belt into the table.
Senior Constable Preston told the court Mr Boadel was agitated and then threw his shoe across the room like a "petulant child".
He said the shoe flew close to Sergeant Scott, but he did not believe it was thrown directly at him.
Senior Constable Preston said that after the shoe was thrown Sergeant Scott punched Mr Boadel in the head and threw him into a wall, before Mr Boadel fell to the ground.
He said Sergeant Scott then kicked Mr Boadel two or three times in the lower back.
In his testimony, Mr Boadel said the blows to his back were delivered by Sergeant Scott's knees.
He told the court he then saw Sergeant Scott squeeze Mr Boadel's throat, prompting Mr Boadel to say "something to the effect of 'just do it'".
The court heard Senior Constable Preston then tapped Sergeant Scott on the shoulder and ended the fight.
Sergeant Scott's barrister, Jason Gullaci, asked Senior Constable Preston if there had been a "haymaker" punch from Mr Boadel which had started the fight.
Senior Constable Preston said Sergeant Scott had mentioned the "haymaker" after the fight but that he did not see it.
Can't support this: Preston
The court heard Senior Constable Preston told Sergeant Scott's actions after the fight that he could not support what he had done and would not lie to protect him.
Senior Constable Preston told the court Sergeant Scott did not attempt to pressure him or ask him to agree to a certain version of events.
The court heard Senior Constable Preston decided to report what he had seen to his superiors.
Sergeant David Armistead, who was not at the station at the time of the fight, told the court Sergeant Scott reported that Mr Boadel threw a "haymaker" punch that started the fight.
After the fight Mr Boadel was taken by ambulance to hospital.
Previous history between pair
Mr Boadel had earlier pleaded guilty to assaulting Sergeant Scott in 2007 following a separate fight out the front of the Mallacoota police station.
The court heard Sergeant Scott attempted to intervene after Mr Boadel approached a prosecution witness after being released from the station, in breach of his bail conditions.
Sergeant Scott attempted to intervene, leading to the two men wrestling outside the police station and Sergeant Scott using capsicum spray in an attempt to subdue him.
Mr Gullaci asked Mr Boadel if he had started the fight in 2007 by throwing a punch.
Mr Boadel denied doing so and said he pleaded guilty because he could not afford to fight the charge.
The court heard Mr Boadel had a reputation for being difficult and police now wore body cameras when dealing with him to record their interactions.
Magistrate Louis Hill committed Sergeant Scott to appear before the County Court for a directions hearing in Bairnsdale next month.
After increasing pressure on the Queensland Government, all children held in the maximum security police watch house in Brisbane have now been removed and placed into youth detention centres.
Key points:
Youth Justice Minister Di Farmer says all children on remand have now been removed from the Brisbane watch house
However, one child is still being held in Mount Isa watch house
Security works at Queensland's two youth detention centres have been fast-tracked to make more beds available
Serious cases of child harm were also exposed by the ABC, including a girl who was placed in a cell with two alleged male sex offenders, and another girl whose finger was severed in a watch house door.
The story prompted national condemnation, with human rights groups calling for the State Government to immediately remove the children from the facilities.
Youth Justice Minister Di Farmer said all children on remand had been removed from the Brisbane watch house — although one child was still being held in Mount Isa in the state's north-west.
"We are by no means out of the woods, but this is a very encouraging achievement today that we are seeing zero people on remand in the Brisbane watch house," she said.
Youth Justice Department director-general Bob Gee said security works at Queensland's two youth detention centres had been fast-tracked to make more beds available.
"The Government over the last two years has been working on security upgrades at the youth detention centres — that has come forward in terms of scheduling," he said.
"Those new beds are back … that's well and truly helped.
"That capacity over the last week has meant we've been able to move young people out of watch houses and into detention centres, where they should be."
Earlier this year, 75 children were recorded as being held in police watch houses, because there was not enough room in the youth detention centres.
Four Victorian police officers have been charged with criminal offences in the past fortnight, including a sergeant who faces multiple sexual assault allegations.
The force on Tuesday confirmed the Melbourne-based sergeant had been charged with six counts of sexual assault by the Professional Standards Command.
He is due to face court in August. News of the allegations came shortly after another sergeant was reportedly charged over an assault that occurred while on the job.
The officer from the western region was charged with three counts of assault following an investigation.
He is expected to face court in October.
Both men have been suspended from duty and continue to be paid.Police have not revealed the details of their ages or when the alleged offences took place.
Charges against the pair follow allegations against two other officers in recent weeks.
On July 4 a senior sergeant from a specialist unit was charged with three counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual exposure in a public place.Six days later, a senior constable was charged with two counts of sexual assault.
EARLIER:
A police sergeant has been charged with assault following an incident while on duty.
The officer, from the western region, faces three charges of assault as result of an investigation by the Professional Standards Command.
Victoria's "western region" includes Ballarat, but also encompasses the entire western half of Victoria outside of Melbourne.
The Victoria Police service regions.
When contacted by The Courier, Victoria Police declined to say where the officer served.
It also refused to say if he had been suspended of if he was continuing to serve.
The male officer is due to face court at a later date.
WA Police officer Andrew Barber pleads guilty to 'payback' assault on teenage girl at watch house
A police officer has been fined over a "payback" assault on a 16-year-old girl in a cell at the Perth watch house where he pushed her, sat on her and tried to hit her.
WA Police Senior Constable Andrew David Barber was immediately stood aside from operational duties after the assault, which took place on the night of May 25.
It was recorded by CCTV cameras in the watch house building.
Barber, 36, pleaded guilty at his very first court appearance, with the Perth Magistrates Court told the teenager had been arrested in William Street in the city for attempted robbery.
She was taken back to the watch house and placed in a holding cell, the door of which Barber decided to leave open so she could get some fresh air.
PHOTO Senior Constable Andrew Barber pushed the girl onto a concrete bench and sat on her.
The court was told the girl was being abusive and trying to walk out of the cell, and when he tried to close the door she kicked it with her right foot, causing it to strike Barber on the right side of his face.
He then walked back into the cell and put his right hand on the victim's shoulder and his left hand on her head, pushing her onto a concrete bench before using his body weight to sit on her.
He also attempted to strike her, with the prosecutor saying the incident was estimated to have lasted about 7 seconds.
Barber was fined $2,500 and granted a spent conviction order, meaning a conviction will not be recorded against his name.
He was also ordered to pay more than $700 in court costs.
Use of force 'a gross overreaction'
Magistrate Greg Smith said Barber's actions were a gross overreaction and the force he used against the girl was unnecessary.
PHOTO Mr Barber's lawyer argued the assault was "unlikely to be replicated in the real world".
He said the assault appeared to be for no other reason than to punish the girl, whom he accepted was being abusive.
But Magistrate Smith said the offence was serious because Barber was in a position of authority and the girl was a juvenile who was in his care and custody.
He accepted thesenior constable was of otherwise good character and that it was unlikely he would offend in such a way again.
Officer deeply remorseful, court told
Barber's lawyer Richard Yates said the girl's behaviour on the night oscillated between being quiet and co-operative, and being difficult, argumentative and abusive.
PHOTO Prosecutors said Barber held a position of authority over the vulnerable girl.
He said at the time his client was angry with the girl over the door hitting him, and with himself for deciding to leave the door open — a decision he now regretted.
Mr Yates said Barber was deeply remorseful and accepted he had made the wrong decision because he was in a position of authority over the girl.
He said Barber had been in the police force for 11 years and had a good service history.
"[The assault] occurred in unique, volatile circumstances which are unlikely to be replicated in the real world," Mr Yates said
Assault an abuse of power: prosecutor
The application for the spent conviction was opposed by prosecutor Caroline Chapman, who described the assault as "payback".
"[Barber] deliberately entered the cell to get payback for the door hitting him in the face," she told the court.
"She did kick the door but her behaviour was not uncommon and does not mitigate the assault.
"She was no threat to his safety and he could have simply shut the door."
The prosecutor also said the assault was an abuse of power because the girl had been particularly vulnerable and Barber held a position of authority over her.
'Decisions to be made' about officer's future
WA Police Minister Michelle Roberts said there was no excuse for Barber's actions.
PHOTO Michelle Roberts says Andrew Barber "doesn't represent police officers in this state".
"I commend him for pleading guilty, but I think the evidence was obviously very clear cut," she said.
"There are decisions to be made by the Commissioner of Police in terms of that officer's future, I understand he's been on desk duty since the initial charge was put in place."
Ms Roberts said it was a "single incident that shouldn't have occurred" and most police officers acted appropriately in the line of duty.
"Occasionally, someone does the wrong thing. That officer doesn't represent police officers in this state," she said.
"I am very confident the vast majority of our police officers treat people in custody appropriately and with respect."
