Police officer admits his memory of transgender woman’s dramatic arrest in a pub pokies room was ‘WRONG and she didn’t throw punches’
A junior police officer has backed down from an earlier statement where he described being repeatedly struck by a woman who he tasered twice, a court has heard.
Constable Mark Brown was being cross-examined on Wednesday in a Sydney local court over an incident which led to the unlawful arrest of Anya Bradford.
Senior Constable Mark Follington, 61, has pleaded not guilty to five charges including evidence-tampering after the May 2019 arrest in the southwest Sydney suburb of Liverpool.
Constable Mark Brown was being cross-examined on Wednesday in a Sydney local court over an incident which led to the unlawful arrest of Anya Bradford (pictured outside court on Wednesday)
Follington is accused of twice assaulting Anya Bradford, who’d been asked for her ID in the gaming room of the Golden Fleece Hotel, and then falsely accusing her of assaulting him and resisting arrest.
After Ms Bradford told the officers she did not have any ID and walked away, CCTV footage shows Follington grab her arm, leading to a scuffle in which the Crown alleges the officer shoved the woman’s head into an ATM.
On Wednesday Const Brown said he and his partner experienced a ‘flurry’ and ‘quick succession of strikes’ by Ms Bradford, before he pulled out his taser and struck her in the back.
‘I think there may have been groin kicks’ he said.
However, the video footage obtained from inside the hotel venue shows his earlier memory of the event was mistaken.
‘You’ve attributed some degree of violence from Bradford upon yourself that’s simply untrue?’ barrister Ray Hood said.
Senior Constable Mark Follington (left) is accused of twice assaulting Ms Bradford (right), who’d been asked for her ID in the gaming room of the Golden Fleece Hotel, and then falsely accusing her of assaulting him and resisting arrest.
‘Yes,’ Const Brown replied.
‘I recorded what happened to the best of my memory.’
When Ms Bradford was asked for her identification inside the hotel Const Brown said she told them to ‘f*** off’ she had a meeting to go to, and called them ‘grunts’.
The junior officer tasered her twice as she fled out the door to the Liverpool Community Corrections Office building foyer.
Following the incident Const Brown was told by a professional standards duty officer to make precise notes of what had occurred.
Those notes were called into question on Wednesday and analysed in light of the video footage.
Follington had charged Ms Bradford with assault and she spent the night in custody.
But after the material was later reviewed by senior police it was advised Ms Bradford’s charges be dismissed.
The court previously heard Follington referred to Ms Bradford as ‘it’ during the altercation.
The hearing has been adjourned and is due to continue on February 25 in 2021.