Hamlyn Terrace: Stressed cop Andrew Stephen Martin, 28, sentenced for threatening to shoot wife with police gun

An overbearing, stressed out cop had assault and intimidation charges dismissed because of the mental injuries he suffered at work. But threatening his wife with his police gun went too far.

Former Senior Constable Andrew Martin, 28, of Hamlyn Terrace, leaving Wyong Local Court where he pleaded guilty to assault and intimidation. Picture: NewsLocal

A magistrate was sympathetic to the mental health disorders a former Central Coast Senior Constable suffered as a result of his six years in the job, including seeing a dead body.

But when Andrew Stephen Martin, 28, of Hamlyn Terrace, threatened to bring his police-issued pistol home and shoot his wife, himself and other family members dead it became “the elephant in the room”.

A magistrate has ruled that unlike pushing his wife, pinning his forearm across her chest in a menacing manner and subjecting her to general screaming tirades of abuse, the threat of a “serving officer taking his gun home” and using it on his wife was “too serious” to be dealt with under mental health laws.

Martin faced Wyong Local Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to two counts of common assault and two counts of intimidation.

His solicitor, leading Central Coast criminal lawyer Bobby Locker, applied to have the charges dealt with under mental health provisions, telling the court Martin was left with severe PTSD and depression from his six years “putting his life on the line every day for the community”.

Too far: Martin had everything else dealt with under mental health laws except threatening to shoot his wife with his police gun.

Mr Locker said Martin had resigned from the police, removed himself from the dysfunctional relationship and was under the care of three mental health professionals.

The Crown prosecutor, however, argued while Martin clearly had mental health issues, he was still able to “function” as a serving police officer while subjecting his long-suffering partner to sustained verbal abuse over a long period.

Disgraced ex-cop Martin leaving Wyong Local Court. Picture: NewsLocal

An agreed set of facts states Martin and his de facto wife were living at Hamlyn Terrace when he started becoming abusive towards her.

Given he was a police officer, the woman felt as if no one would believe her so she started filming him or recording audio files whenever he started verbally or physically abusing her early last year.

“The recordings established that the offender engaged in eight incidents of intimidatory conduct towards the victim,” the facts state.

“The behaviour of the offender caused the victim to fear for her life. She told police that she cannot sleep properly because she doesn’t know when the offender will follow through with his threats.”

SIf he wasn’t a cop, he wouldn’t have access to a gun, the court heard. (File picture: NCA Newswire / Gaye Gerard)

The agreed facts states Martin yelled and berated the woman, who he described as “disgusting, s--t and told her she was pathetic”.

He also threatened she would “get your f--king arse whooped” and that he would smack her, slit her throat or shoot her.

Martin was mentally disordered at the time but the Crown argued he was still “functioning”. Picture: NewsLocal

Martin criticised how she looked after the house, how much she ate and how she didn’t contribute financially.

When she told him about putting plans in place so she could get a job, he refused to allow it.

Another time when she said she would leave he said “I’ll come find ya and f--king kill ya”.

“You f--king smile in my face one more f--king time and I will f--king slit your throat,” he yelled

On one occasion he screamed at her in the car and on another the abuse continued for almost 16 minutes

“I have been telling you for f--king years to get off your arse,” Martin told the woman.

“If you want to treat this as a f--king joke I promise, you will be f--king sorry.

“Everyone’s life is f--king misery because of you.”

On two occasions Martin pushed her shoulder and pressed his forearm across her chest in a threatening manner, which the facts stated were the two counts of common assault.

But even Martin crossed the line when she recorded him threatening: “I might as well bring my gun home, kill you, kill [other family members] then kill myself”.

In the end Magistrate John Arms diverted the two common assault charges and one intimidation offence by way of treatment — with no convictions recorded — under Section 14 of the Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Forensic Provisions Act.

But he convicted Martin of the other intimidation offence in which the former officer threatened to bring his service gun home and turn it on his partner.

“[That] is the elephant in the room,” Mr Arms said.

“That’s a substantial threat and he had access to a firearm. It’s just too serious.”

Mr Arms sentenced Martin to a community correction order for two years.