New Matilda 16 October 2014:
Four police
officers will stand trial over allegations they bashed an Aboriginal man, who
was originally falsely charged with assaulting a constable before CCTV footage
cleared him during the incident on the NSW north coast in 2011.
Constable Lee
Walmsley, Constable Ryan Eckersley, former Sergeant Robert McCubben and Senior
Constable Mark Woolven will stand trial after waiving a right to a committal
hearing at the Downing Local Court, the ABC reported today.
They have
pleaded not guilty.
It follows an
incident involving the then 23-year-old Corey Barker in Ballina on January 14,
2011.
Mr Barker was
arrested after intervening in an altercation between two of his friends and
police.
He was
originally charged with resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer after
being taken to Ballina Police Station, charges which were overturned when the restored
CCTV footage, previously believed to be damaged, unveiled a different version
of events.
Ballina Local
Court Magistrate David Heilpern overturned the charges, ordered the NSW Police
pay Mr Barker’s costs and referred the matter to the Police Integrity
Commission.
The PIC
handed down its report in 2013, recommending criminal charges for six of the
officers involved. The ABC reported a total of 25 charges were laid against the
officers. A fifth officer will also waive his right to a committal hearing.
The trial
will start in 2015.
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