Daniel James Nicholson leapt dock in an attempt to flee after his bail was revoked, court hears

Watch the moment a defendant – in court and high on meth – “freaks out” and leaps over the dock, injuring two sheriff’s officers as he tries to flee.

A defendant “freaked out” upon learning his bail was being revoked and jumped a court dock to flee, injuring two sheriffs officers in the “violent and forceful” confrontation, a court has heard.

Footage from inside Christies Beach Magistrates Court in September last year shows Daniel James Nicholson, 35, of O’Sullivan Beach, become agitated as Magistrate Sue O’Connor revokes his bail, remanding him in custody.

After first failing to leap from the dock as two sheriff’s officers attempt to stop him, Nicholson breaks free and successfully leaps over the dock glass and lands on the court 4 bar table.

In one swift move, police prosecutor Brendan Gottschutzke then tackles Nicholson to the ground, but he breaks free and tries to leave the courtroom.

One of the officers then grabs Nicholson from behind and they fall backwards. Nicholson keeps resisting before he is eventually restrained.

The footage was released by the District Court on Tuesday, after Nicholson appeared for a pre-sentence hearing on Monday.

In audio from the courtroom Nicholson can be heard pleading with Ms O’Connor not to revoke his bail, saying “miss, please miss” and that he is “trying to change”.

During the incident, multiple people are yelling, before sheriff’s officers can be heard telling Nicholson to “just chill”.

After he is restrained, Ms O’Connor tells Nicholson he will be charged over the assault she watched unfold in her courtroom.

“You just smashed into a sheriff’s officer,” she said.

During the District Court hearing Prosecutor Tali Costi said the attempt to escape was “impulsive and futile”.

Daniel James Nicholson jumps the dock in courtroom 4 at the Christies Beach Magistrates Court before he is restrained by a police prosecutor and sheriff’s officers.

Daniel James Nicholson jumps the dock in courtroom 4 at the Christies Beach Magistrates Court before he is restrained by a police prosecutor and sheriff’s officers.

“His resist of the sheriffs officers in that attempt is violent and it is forceful,” she said.

“It is a violent and confrontational altercation between him and the sheriff’s officers where he is physically trying to escape them and to not be detained.

“This is not an attempt of someone simply fleeing but of fighting to flee.”

She said Nicholson had an offending history which demonstrated his inability to comply with court orders, and has anger and impulse control issues. She urged the court to impose a jail term that protects the community and reflects the gravity of his offending.

She said his prior offending included threatening a police officer with a syringe, that he “pointed in a stabbing motion”.

Nicholson pleaded guilty to an offence of attempted escape from custody and two counts of recklessly causing harm to a prescribed emergency worker.

One of the sheriff's officers suffered a broken right foot while grabbing Nicholson after he broke free from Mr Gottschutzke’s tackle, and was required to wear a moon boot for eight weeks. The other officer suffered a clicking jaw and headache from the scuffle.

Documents filed with the court reveal Nicholson was “very frank” during a subsequent interview with police.

“He said he freaked out when he was told that his bail was revoked; he thought he was just coming to court and going back out and his son was with him as well,” the documents say.

“He said his reaction was stupid. He said he jumped the box and was just trying to get out of there; he wasn’t trying to hurt anyone.”

Peter Hill, for Nicholson, said his client was “genuinely remorseful for his behaviour” and had been in custody since his attempted escape.

He said the father-of-four had a “longstanding issue with illicit drug use” and was under the influence of methamphetamine at the time of the offending.

He asked the court consider either a home detention or suspended sentence, or alternatively a sentence with a longer than usual non-parole period to allow him to rehabilitate in the community.

Nicholson will be sentenced in July.