Former army officer tasered into submission after kicking, punching police

The violent outburst served as a “scary” wakeup call for the Kallangur man, who had taken to drinking and smoking cannabis every day.

A former army officer was taken into police custody and tasered when he became violent during a routine traffic stop at Kallangur this month.

Trevor Collin Skoda, 38, served for seven years in the Australian Defence Force during which time he was deployed to assist countries affected by the 2004 tsunami.

In civilian life, however, Skoda has been pulled apart by the dual tides of drug addiction and alcoholism.

During a sentencing hearing at the Pine Rivers Magistrates Court, the court heard Skoda was pulled over for speeding on Anzac Ave at Kallangur on November 4.

The police prosecutor told the court Skoda was observed “almost falling asleep in the driver’s seat, with glazed eyes” and the police officer had to ask him twice for a breath test before he responded.

Skoda finally blew into the machine, but as the results were processing, he put his keys in the ignition as if to drive away.

The officer took the keys, prompting Skoda to reach out through the window to slap the Alcometer out of his hand.

A fight ensued, in which Skoda kicked and punched both officers in the neck, chest and leg region, only stopping when presented with a taser.

Skoda told police he’d been drinking and smoking cannabis, and stated he did that “every day”.

The court heard police located 8.89 grams of cannabis in the glove box of the car.

Skoda was taken to the Pine Rivers watch house, but the violence didn’t stop there.

Once in a holding cell, Skoda began to loudly bang his head against the door, ignoring police requests to stop.

Two officers at the station tried to move Skoda into a violent detention cell and he lashed out at them, kicking, punching them and grabbing their shirts.

He was finally subdued with the taser and taken to hospital, where he was held under emergency examination authority.

A taser was used to subdue the former army officer.

The court heard Skoda had been four times over the legal alcohol limit and had little memory of the event.

He pleaded guilty to four counts of assaulting a police officer, one count of obstructing a police officer and one count of possessing dangerous drugs.

Lawyer for the defence Shaun Kolo told the court Skoda, who has worked in the hospitality industry and currently volunteers at the Nudgee cemetery, had been scared by how aggressive he had become while under the influence and had subsequently stopped drinking and using drugs.

He was sentenced to 40 hours of community service to be completed within six months.

No conviction was recorded.