Police Sergeant: “What I saw appears not to have happened.”

[Graham]

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-31/act-jack-wighton-nightclub-arrest-police-officer-apology-court/103044904

Edited October 31, 2023 by Graham

[DoubleD]

He means he was paid off

[Anita Bath]

guilty until proved innocent then?

[Graham]

 

Prosecutors have dropped fighting charges against the NRL players Latrell Mitchell and Jack Wighton.

Prosecutor Sam Bargwanna decided not to offer any more evidence on Wednesday morning, ending the prosecution of the duo.

The most senior police officer involved in the duo’s arrest – Sgt David Power – admitted on Tuesday he gave false evidence.

[Graham]

Mr Wighton had been celebrating his 30th birthday in February this year when police removed him from Fiction nightclub.

Both Mr Wighton and Mr Mitchell were charged with fighting in a public place, with Mr Wighton also charged with ignoring an exclusion order, and Mr Mitchell charged with affray and resisting police.

But today, those charges were dismissed after the police case collapsed.

The players, who are cousins, embraced each other when Magistrate Jane Campbell dismissed the case in the ACT Magistrates Court.

She also ordered ACT Policing to pay both player's legal costs.

Outside court, Canberra Raiders chief executive Don Furner called the case "an extraordinary waste of the court's time and taxpayers money".

 

[Graham]

https://amp.abc.net.au/article/103047792

[Anita Bath]

Still think they were paid off Double D?

[Farmduck]

I don't understand why the prosecution put that witness up when they knew the CCTV footage would undermine his testimony. At least they could have run through the footage with him first before the trial then asked if he still wanted to testify to what he thought he saw. If they'd done that maybe the whole case would have been dropped before the court process started and saved everyone some time, effort and money.

[Graham]

That video must have been available for that purpose as Don Furner had seen it and asked the police to watch it and rethink. 
Specifically Furner is quoted as saying:

"We wrote to the DPP [Director of Public Prosecutions] a number of times to try to get meetings, to ask them why this was going to go ahead.

"I personally called Neil Gaughan, the head of ACT police ... I went and saw him, I showed him the footage and I read him the police statement of facts and I said: 'I can't see how these marry, please tell me if I'm missing something'. I couldn't believe it.

"I don't think that's the last ACT police and the DPP will have heard of this."