Drunken woman charged for assault

Grafton Local Court documents reveal details of evening that led to drunken assault and theft.

What started as a nice dinner among friends has ended with a woman getting charged for assault.

What started as a nice dinner among friends has ended with a woman getting charged for assault.

In July 2020, Vanessa Archer, 48, was charged with assaulting a police officer who attended her residence at The Pinnacles, approximately 20km northwest of Grafton, NSW in regard to two earlier incidents she was involved in.

According to Grafton Local Court documents, Archer was invited to dinner at a friend’s home where she proceeded to consume an entire bottle of wine.

As the evening progressed, Archer became aggressive toward one person by tackling and grabbing the victim inappropriately.

While attempting to remove Archer’s hand from their person, Archer then proceeded to choke the victim by applying a sleeper hold.

The victim said “let me go, you’re hurting me, I can’t breathe,” while elbowing Archer several times. When Archer let go, Archer responded by saying “I was just playing.”

Archer was told to leave the house by the victim, with a witness to the incident collecting Archer’s belongings and escorting her out the front door. Archer eventually left the premises, but took the victim’s puppy with her.

Police were contacted a short time later in relation to the assault and the stolen puppy and later arrived at Archer’s residence.

Police noted that Archer appeared to be “well affected by alcohol, very unsteady on her feet with bloodshot eyes and heavy smell of alcohol.”

Archer was arrested for assault and placed in the back of a police vehicle, but was later released. She was told that if she wished to pursue ownership of the puppy to do so through civil court.

However, when an officer attempted to open the passenger door of the police vehicle to retrieve the puppy, Archer advanced toward the officer two times before a two-handed check drill was applied to her chest, knocking her off her feet.

Archer stood up and attempted to punch the officer before kicking out, striking the officer on the thigh and groin. Archer was immediately placed under arrest for assaulting police.

Archer later pleaded guilty to the charges. However, in Grafton Local Court on Monday the charges were dismissed and Archer was discharged with conditions.