Parramatta Local Court – March 2016

Our client was a middle-aged man charged with custody of a baseball bat, intimidation, assault police and intimidate police. On our advice, he pleaded guilty to the baseball bat and assault police offences, and not guilty to the two intimidation offences.
At hearing, one of the intimidation offences was withdrawn and dismissed due to the non-attendance of the complainant. We vigorously cross-examined the custody sergeant, who claimed to have been intimidated by our client who was locked up in the custody area of the police station, and played CCTV from the police station to the court, clearly showing the sergeant confidently approaching our client, opening the door of the custody dock and striking our client in the face. The Magistrate was persuaded by our submissions and dismissed the intimidate police charge, finding that the police officer’s actions were “over the top” and “unnecessary”.
In relation to the plead guilty matters, our client was fined and placed on a good behaviour bond.