Assault Against a Police Officer

ASSAULT AGAINST A POLICE OFFICER? 

Assault against a police officer while they are in the execution of duty is a serious criminal offence, primarily because of the vulnerable position police are placed in while trying to maintain the peace, but and also for the need to send a message to the community that assaults on police will be treated seriously by the courts and offenders must be deterred.

In NSW, there are two charges that cover assaulting a police officer, section 58 of the Crimes Act 1914 which covers assaults on “officers”, and section 60 which is specific to assaulting a “police officer”. Both offences carry a maximum penalty of 5 years imprisonment.

WHAT IS THE MAXIMUM PENALTY? 

It is an offence under sections 58 and 60 Crimes Act 1900 and has a maximum penalty of 5 years imprisonment, or 2 years if the matter is finalised in the Local Court.

WHAT DOES THE PROSECUTION HAVE TO PROVE IF I ASSAULT A POLICE OFFICER? 

To prove an offence of assaulting a police officer, the prosecution must show beyond reasonable doubt that you:
– Assaulted a person; and
– That person was a police officer; and
– At the time of the assault, that police officer was in the execution of their duty.

WHAT IS AN ASSAULT? 

An assault is either:

1. an act which does not involve the application of physical force but which caused the police officer to fear immediate and unlawful violence, or
2. the unlawful touching of a police officer, without their consent, but which does not amount to actual bodily harm. Actual bodily harm includes things like bruises, scratches, or marks.

Examples of assaults include threatening to inflict violence or punching, slapping or kicking an officer.

You can read more about assaults here!

WHAT DOES RECKLESSNESS MEAN? 

If the police do not allege that you applied physical force, it must be proved that you realised the complainant might fear that they would be subjected to immediate and unlawful violence but continued regardless. This is considered less serios than the physical assault of an officer.

If police allege that you physically touched someone, it must be proved that you realised the complainant might be subjected to unlawful touching, however slight, but you continued regardless. This can fall within the low range of offending up to very high range of objective seriousness which would impact the penalty on sentence.

SHOULD I PLEAD GUILTY OR NOT GUILTY? 

This is the first a question clients ask when they attend our office for the initial consultation. The answer to this key question depends on a number of factors including, for example:

• whether you accept that you assaulted the police officer
• whether the police officer was acting in the execution of their duty
• whether you were acting in self-defence.

Being provided advise from our expert criminal lawyers will give you the peace of mind that whilst you may think you may be guilty, to may not be guilty at law.

In the circumstances that you accept that you assaulted the police officer after advice from our criminal lawyers and perusal of the brief, but you disagree with part of what police say happened we can write representations to police to negotiate the factual matrix in the case.

IF YOU ARE CHARGED WITH THE OFFENCE OF ASSAULT POLICE OFFICER IN THE EXECUTION OF THEIR DUTY WHAT ARE YOUR OPTION?

Criminal Lawyers Group (CLG) have been successful in defending several Assault police officer in the execution of their duty charges where the prosecution could not establish each or one of the elements of the offence.

Where our clients have decided to plead guilty, we have achieved a number of non-convictions for Assault police officer in the execution of their duty. Further, where other lawyers have told their clients they would receive a jail sentence, our criminal lawyers have successfully kept our clients out of jail.

See one of our high-profile media cases where our clients have avoided jail sentences.

Criminal Lawyers Group offer the following options for those who have been charged with Assault police officer in the execution of their duty:

1. In the event we are instructed to plead guilty to some charges but not all and to contest the facts, we will negotiate with prosecutors, by writing representations to the police or the DPP to request that the charge/s be withdrawn, downgraded or fact sheets amended.
2. In the event we are instructed to plead not guilty, CLG will plead not guilty and go to hearing and persuade the Court that prosecution has failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
3. In the event the client wishes to plead guilty with full acceptance of the facts as set out by the police, CLG will appear at the sentence proceedings and make strong submissions on your behalf requesting that the Court not record a criminal conviction.

CASE STUDY

A young man we acted for was charged with assaulting an officer. He along with co-accused were charged with a number of offence that were alleged to have occurred after a vehicle stop. Our client pleaded not guilty on the basis that the police was not acting in the execution of his duty and did not tell our client that he was under arrest before grabbing him to the ground and eventually tasering him. The client was represented by Steven Mercael, who after 2 days’ worth of hearings successful defended the charge.

WHY CHOOSE A CRIMINAL LAWYERS FROM CRIMINAL LAWYERS GROUP?

Our Criminal Lawyers are award-winning criminal lawyers that specialise in criminal offences. Whether it’s a traffic infringement or a serious criminal case our lawyers are here to assist in providing you specialised criminal representation.