"(The complainant) was not trying to kick you, was he?" Mr Robinson asked.Ĭonstable Barlow denied the kick was something he "made up" in an attempt to justify the force used. Under cross-examination, Crown Prosecutor Darren Robinson put it to Constable Barlow that the teenager was having difficulties with his balance prior to the leg sweep. "And in placing him in handcuffs, what do you achieve?" Mr Haverfield asked.Ĭonstable Barlow said when he heard the "jaw" threat and moved towards the teen, it was his intention to place him under arrest. "To gain control of (the complainant)," Constable Barlow replied, before saying this was for the purpose of placing him in handcuffs. His barrister, Brent Haverfield, asked about the purpose of using force when he first made contact with the complainant. "Because he made the threat," Constable Barlow replied.Ĭonstable Barlow stepped into the witness box today, where he again said he feared he was going to be "kicked in the groin" when the boy lifted his foot. He was asked whether the fact the teenager or other members of his group were Indigenous played any role in the decision to approach them.įootage from Constable Barlow's body-worn camera shows the boy's mother arrived at the park while he was being put into a police vehicle.Ĭonstable Barlow told her that as the group was stopped, her son "threatened to punch my head in". The teenager was arrested at gunpoint following that incident, the court heard.Īsked what reason he relied upon to stop the teenager and his friends in the park, Constable Barlow said "their behaviour was suspicious" because they tried to walk away and were swearing and several pulled hoodies over their heads. The boys then put their hoods up and walked away from the officers before the altercation.During the interview, recorded the month after the incident, Constable Barlow said he was aware of the teenager due to a previous incident in which he had attempted to shoplift from Woolworths and had produced a replica firearm. Officers were investigating an unrelated matter in a housing commission nearby when they saw the group of teenagers gathered in the park. "Matters come down to very short time and split-second decisions." "That is not the reality in which police officers work and operate," he said. The magistrate found the risk the boy posed to police was "not proportionate" to warrant using the manoeuvre, however acknowledged he had the benefit of watching videos after the fact. These countries are parties to. Police officers testified the "leg sweep" manoeuvre was an option given to police but was not one explicitly taught to officers. The Conference of the Parties, commonly known as COP, brings together countries to address climate change. I have some difficulty accepting that that incident had played any significant role in (Barlow's) mind," Mr Attia said.īarlow has been found guilty of common assault and common assault occasioning actual bodily harm. "Neither the kick nor attempted kick, the primary reason for the leg sweep, was mentioned until the 2nd of July," Mr Attia said.īarlow also gave evidence he felt threatened due to a story he'd heard about an earlier incident involving the boy.Īccording to police, he was arrested after attempting to steal a can of Coke and allegedly brandishing a toy gun in response to police officers drawing their weapons. you said you'd crack me across the face, mate we all heard it," Barlow said.Ī police statement from the officer after the arrest also did not refer to any kicking action. "I didn't threaten you, I didn't think you'd care, I didn't physically hurt you, did I hurt you?," the boy said during his arrest. When the boy continuously asked why he'd been arrested, Barlow said "for threatening an officer". "The complainant is a 16-17-year-old young person, standing three to four metres away from the officer making no movements towards him."īody-worn footage from police officers as well as mobile phone footage taken by the boy's friend "for safety" showed no kicking action from the boy as well as no reference to kicking between officers, the magistrate found. "I simply do not see what (Barlow) says occurred," Magistrate Rami Attia said in Downing Centre Local Court on Monday. During the course of that dialogue, an officer approached the 17-year-old old male and effected the arrest of the male by using a leg sweep, placing him onto the ground. He was arrested for saying "I'll crack you in the f***ing jaw, bro" to Barlow after four officers approached him and a group of friends in an inner Sydney park in June 2022.īarlow said he felt threatened by the boy and that he performed the leg sweep because the teen had "kicked out" at his groin area during the arrest. The boy can be heard in recordings saying "you don't have to hurt me" several times throughout the ordeal, including when he was laying on the ground with the 30-year-old kneeling on top of him.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |