Court accuses police of planting evidence
TRANSCRIPT OF ABC RADIO REPORT
AM - Friday, 26 March , 2004 08:15:21 Reporter: Nick McKenzie
TONY EASTLEY: Now to a story about New South Wales Police.
A magistrate in the south-western New South Wales city of Wagga Wagga says police there nearly beat a man to death, fabricated evidence about him, and later lied in court about the incident.
Details emerged in a case before the Local Court this week.
Magistrate Bill Pearce, who also found that police planted a knife at the crime scene, has referred the matter to the New South Wales Police Integrity Commission.
The State Opposition wants to know now why an internal police inquiry into the incident a year ago cleared the officers involved.
Nick McKenzie reports.
NICK MCKENZIE: "The product of too much power for too long" - such was the damning finding of Magistrate Bill Pearce, while presiding over a case that began with charges of assaulting police, and ended with a finding that it was instead a police officer who did most of the assaulting.
The defendant, 41-year-old Alan Hathaway, was charged in Wagga Wagga early last year, after fleeing from police who tried to arrest him over driving offences.
He jumped over several fences, before hiding in a bedroom of a nearby house. He was found by a police officer, Constable Chris Jackson and an altercation followed.
The Court heard Mr Hathaway was left with severe facial injuries, an arm broken in three places, as well as injuries to his lower body. He was hospitalised for more than a month.
Constable Chris Jackson claimed he was defending himself, after two doses of capsicum spray failed to subdue a violent Mr Hathaway. Police also claimed a knife was found in the bedroom, which had been placed by Mr Hathaway, so he could use it to avoid arrest.
But yesterday, Magistrate Bill Pearce saw otherwise.
He said the knife had been planted by police officers, after they realised their colleague had:
(Court transcripts excerpt)
BILL PEARCE: Smashed the defendant to an inch of his life, and that is not an exaggeration. In fact, they are lucky they didn't kill him.
We can't know who it was, but a police officer definitely put that knife there.
(End Court transcripts excerpt)
NICK MCKENZIE: Magistrate Bill Pearce didn't stop there. In turn, he castigated six of the officers involved in the case.
Of one detective, the magistrate said it was "absolutely breathtaking" that he didn't recognise Mr Hathaway was badly injured, and had initially taken him to a police station rather than a hospital.
(Court transcripts excerpt)
BILL PEARCE: The fact that after all this, the police take him back to the police station beggars belief. And when the ambulance wants to take him away, they are told, 'no they can't do so'.
(End Court transcripts excerpt)
NICK MCKENZIE: Referring to the evidence given by a constable, the Magistrate said:
(Court transcripts excerpt)
BILL PEARCE: Constable Philcott claims that the defendant used his right hand to lean on the wall. Now I trust I will be excused for using the vernacular, but like hell he did. His right arm was broken in three places. That was a lie.
(End Court transcripts excerpt)
NICK MCKENZIE: But the Magistrate reserved some of his fiercest criticism for another officer, who'd been making gestures during the court case.
(Court transcripts excerpt)
BILL PEARCE: This is an officer who sat in the back of the court, rolled his eyes dramatically in an exaggerated fashion calculated to interfere with the ability of the witness to recount what had happened.
He also threw up both hands in mock horror. Officers like that are too stupid and too immature to understand what they're doing is contempt of Court. He may well have been too dumb to have fully appreciated what he was doing was contempt of Court yesterday.
(End Court transcripts excerpt)
NICK MCKENZIE: As to the way the police acted at the scene of the crime, the Magistrate Bill Pearce had this to say.
(Court transcripts excerpt)
BILL PEARCE: It is amazing that arrangements were made to clean the premises so very quickly. That makes me suspect, taken with all the other evidence, that there was an attempt to make things appear less bad for the police because the bedroom was a bloodbath.
(End Court transcripts excerpt)
NICK MCKENZIE: Mr Hathaway earlier pleaded guilty to driving offences and one count of resisting arrest, which related to when he initially fled police.
The Magistrate dismissed two charges of assaulting police as well as a third charge relating to the knife found in the bedroom.
The State Opposition's police spokesman, Peter Debnam, says the Magistrate's comments are disturbing, as is the revelation that a police internal inquiry last year cleared the officers involved of any wrongdoing.
PETER DEBNAM: Clearly you'd have to be concerned with the internal investigation and the Police Integrity Commission is the right place to go to argue that out, both from the offender, or the original offender's point of view, but also from the police point of view so they can get their day in court.
TONY EASTLEY: New South Wales Opposition police spokesman, Peter Debnam, ending that report by Nick McKenzie.
A spokeswoman for the Police Minister told AM she was unable to comment, and a police spokesman told AM the force's local area commander had full confidence in his officers, although he said he would welcome the findings of the Police Integrity Commission inquiry.