Comatosed man with an irreparable brain injury, Andrew Patrick Lesage to remain under 24-hour guard in hospital
A man with an irreparable brain injury will stay under 24-7 watch in hospital because, a court says, it cannot “cure the world’s ails”.
Police & Courts
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A comatose man who, a court heard, suffered an irreparable brain injury after being tasered by SA Police will remain under 24-hour guard in hospital because, a magistrate says, he “cannot cure the ails of the world”.
On Thursday, police prosecutors refused to downgrade their case against Andrew Patrick Lesage so that he could be officially released from custody and be seen freely, at the RAH, by his family.
Mark Twiggs, for Mr Lesage, said that position was “just silly” as his client could neither flee the jurisdiction nor sign a bail agreement, given his perilous health condition.
Magistrate Brian Nitschke said he understood the difficulty of the situation - but saw no legal way of resolving it.
“I’m sorry, I can’t cure the ails of the world,” he said.
Mr Lesage, 39, of Hectorville, was charged with offences including aggravated assault with a weapon after an incident at his home on November 19.
Last week, the court heard SA Police tasered and “jumped on” Mr Lesage, leaving him with irreparable brain injuries, in a coma and intensive care at the RAH.
His lawyer described his chances of survival as “doubtful” and asked that Mr Lesage – who cannot sign bail papers due to his condition – be released from official custody.
On Thursday, Mr Nitschke said he could not compel police to lessen their case in order to change Mr Lesage’s custody status.
He said he could not consider granting bail when no application had been made - and stressed such an application did not guarantee success.
“At this stage, there’s sufficient concern about Mr Lesage’s behaviour that I would not simply say ‘you can go your own way’,” he said.
He remanded Mr Lesage in custody to face court again in two weeks’ time.
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