A police officer has been found guilty of assaulting a man at Goulburn Police Station in early 2019.
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WARNING: Viewers are advised the below video contains strong explicit language.
Senior Constable Jeames Iain Murray, 38, of Crookwell, was convicted of two counts of assault at Goulburn Local Court on October 20.
The court heard that on January 12, 2019, Murray assaulted a 18-year-old male at Goulburn Police Station.
It was presented to the court that the victim was arrested in Clifford Street, Goulburn, for fighting with a family member. The victim had been drinking at a nearby licensed premises before the fight broke out.
The court heard that Murray and another police officer attended the scene, arrested the man and took him to the station.
Photographs of injuries the other police officer sustained while placing the victim under arrest were presented to the court. The man was later convicted of affray.
The police prosecution said that when they arrived at the loading dock in the police station, Murray assaulted the victim by grabbing the back of his neck with his hand and pushing his head against a wall.
They said Murray then assaulted the victim again when he placed him in a headlock, escorted him to the entrance of a cell, lifted him up and propelled him across the room which resulted in his head hitting the cell door.
CCTV footage and body-worn video-footage of the incident was played to the court on numerous occasions throughout the trial.
Magistrate McGowan said this footage was relied heavily upon by the prosecution.
WARNING: Viewers are advised the below video contains strong explicit language.
The magistrate said the victim's memory of that night was "not good" due to intoxication.
In evidence the victim said he had memory of blows to the back of his head and of "giving cheek" to an officer.
He also remembered kicking the doors of the police truck on the way to the station.
The court heard that during the trial Murray had described the victim as combative and hostile. Murray had been a police officer for 15 years with eight years spent in Goulburn and Crookwell.
He said when they arrived at the loading dock the victim first refused to leave the truck and yelled expletives. He said that when the victim stepped out of the truck he immediately formed the view that the situation could escalate.
Murray said he then grabbed the man by the back of the neck with one-hand and tried to secure him. He said the victim then used both hands to push off the dock in an attempt to assault him.
It was presented to the court that Murray had used a headlock because the man was not wearing a shirt, and as a result was sweaty and slippery.
Murray said the man was "dropping his weight" and trying to "squeeze his head out"' while being taken to the cell. The policeman said he had stepped forward with his right foot towards to cell just as the victim's resistance stopped. The defense argued that the combination of the sudden stop of resistance and the forward motion caused the victim to fall into the cell. They said the CCTV footage did not show the full situation.
The magistrate said she was expected to use her life experience and common-sense to make a decision. She said it was not put forward that the arrest was not lawful or that Murray was not carrying out his duty.
"The central issue is whether all the actions carried out were done with a lawful excuse and whether he was using reasonable force to carry out police duties," the magistrate said.
She said it was important to "not make minute or retrospective criticisms of police officer's actions when faced with assault and violence".
The magistrate asserted that the whole incident took only a few seconds and the video footage was "extremely compelling".
"In my view the planting of the feet and dropping of the hip resulted in a throwing motion that propelled [the victim] into the cell door," magistrate McGowan said.
WARNING: Viewers are advised the below video contains strong explicit language.
Upon reflection, the magistrate said she did not agree it was necessary to use that degree of force.
She said Murray had advantage in stature and sobriety. The victim was outnumbered, had no weapon, and the doors to exit the loading dock had been closed.
"I find grabbing the victim's neck and propelling him towards a wall used more force than was necessary [and] placing him in a headlock was also unnecessary.
"[The victim] did not hit the cell door as a result of his own actions, Murray propelled him forward."
Murray was found guilty for both charges, convicted and fined $1500 for the first charge and $2000 for the second.
