Paul Earl Tipler: Warwick man’s wild tirade after violent struggle with cops

‘F--k youse c--ts!’: A Warwick man who threatened to ‘punch on’ with police before an unfortunate mishap with his artificial leg also tried to smash a phone that contained an illegal recording.

Paul Earl Tipler (right) leaving the Warwick courthouse.

A Warwick man who threatened to “punch on” with the police before a fierce struggle with officers that saw his artificial leg detached has been handed a jail sentence over his bizarre interactions with police.

Paul Earl Tipler pleaded not guilty to six charges at the beginning of his hearing in Warwick Magistrates Court over a string of run-ins with the law on May 18 last year.

Bodycam footage played to the court that did not physically show Tipler, but captured his voice telling an officer who tried to intercept him for speeding near Willowvale, “I know you are, it’s not legal! It’s not f —king legal, you’re not f —king legal, I’m not pulling over”.

Yangan Senior Constable Aaron Green stated he briefly lost track of the 47-year-old’s car before tracking it through radio communications to an Aspinall Street home, where he and several other officers told the Warwick man he was under arrest for evading police.

More bodycam footage was played to the court, showing Tipler agitatedly pointing at police while telling them they were “illegal” and he would have them charged with trespassing.

The video captured Tipler warning he was about to start “punching on” before he was taken to the ground by police, with Tipler thrashing and struggling for a few minutes to the point his artificial leg came off.

“F —k youse (sic) c —ts! Now you’ve taken my leg off, f —king dogs,” Tipler could be heard yelling.
Warwick police Senior Constable Darren Black also testified to tracking Tipler’s car through town until arriving at the Aspinall Street home, where he waited for back-up before entering the front yard where the struggle would soon take place.

Tipler was self-represented and also the only witness for the defence, claiming he was seated on the console in the car between his small-statured mother in the driver’s seat and his child on the passenger side, which is why it appeared as though he was behind the wheel.

He told the Warwick court he then leaned over his mother to speak to Senior Constable Green at the intersection, because “everything about (the police) is a business” and “they’re running under illegal ABN numbers and shouldn’t be”.

Tipler argued he only threatened to “box on” with police at the Aspinall Street home because he was unwell and wary of Covid, and officers ignored his request to keep their 1.5m social distancing.

He accepted during his testimony that he was driving without a licence, and later acknowledged his extensive criminal history.

Tipler told the court he’d suffered myriad medical issues and the loss of his mother within the past year, and asked for some leniency so he could remain in the lives of his four children aged nine to 12 .

“I lost my leg at the age of 16, that sort of rebelled me against everyone, and I spent most of my life getting out of prison after that,” he said.

Magistrate Julian Noud commended Tipler for his polite conduct throughout the hearing, but said his “inflammatory and illogical statements” about the police service undermined any credibility as a witness.

Mr Noud found Tipler guilty of obstructing police, disqualified driving, speeding, and failure to comply with a direction to stop.

Tipler was found not guilty of assaulting police and public nuisance, stating there was no clear evidence of actual harm to Senior Constable Green during the arrest or that members of the public would have been disturbed by the struggle.

The Warwick man then pleaded guilty of his own accord to another set of charges, which related to his matter in Warwick Magistrates Court on October 12, 2020 being illegally filmed and then posted to his Facebook account.

When police then raided his home to seize the mobile phone and video, Tipler tried to smash the phone and then hide it before eventually co-operating.

Tipler pleaded guilty to a further one count each of obstructing police, filming court proceedings without authorisation, and disqualified driving.

He was sentenced to 12 months’ jail with immediate parole, fined $1575, and disqualified from driving for four years.