Patonga Boat House: Buck’s party reveller Luke Maloney choked cop
A police officer’s eyes were ‘bulging’ and his tongue was ‘hanging out’ as he was choked after a wild drunken buck’s party erupted into a brawl with police, a court has heard.
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A security guard has described in court the moment a drunken Bucks party reveller stood over a police officer and choked him until “his eyes were bulging (and) his tongue was hanging out”.
The Boat House security guard Peter Paavola gave evidence in Gosford Local Court on Monday at the hearing of Luke Robert Maloney, who pleaded not guilty to intentionally choking a police officer in the execution of their duty, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and using violence to cause fear.
The 35-year-old from Umina Beach had already pleaded guilty to failing to quit a licensed business.
Mr Paavola said the Palm Beach Ferry master had called ahead on February 23 last year to let the hotel know a group of men dressed in floral Hawaiian shirts celebrating a Buck’s party had been kicked out of the Newport Arms Hotel.
He said the group were heavily intoxicated and on their way to Patonga.
About 5.30pm the first tranche of the group arrived at the hotel and were declined entry.
Mr Paavola said the first group left largely without incident after the were offered transport.
However he said when the second half of the group arrived about an hour later the police were called when one of them — the groom Joshua Bovis — assaulted one of the hotel staff by slapping him on the back of the head.
Mr Paavola said two officers arrived and after a brief conversation with staff and some of the men the officers began walking across the road to where Joshua Bovis was being led away.
The security officer told the court within seconds the situation descended into “just a melee” with one officer with his baton out surrounded by three or four men.
He said another witness directed his attention to the other officer who had two people “on top of him”.
He said a man in a dark blue shirt with a full beard was standing in a crouched position over the officer who was face down “with his head up” and the man’s forearm around his throat.
“His face was, it looked like he was in distress,” Mr Paavola told the court.
“His eyes were bulging, tongue hanging out and he looked like he couldn’t breathe.”
The Senior Constable had previously told the court he thought he was about to lose consciousness and it was the worst incident he had ever experienced in his career.
Maloney’s solicitor Brian Murray argued it could not be clear from body worn video who choked the officer or if someone else from the group had grabbed the officer to prevent him from spraying capsicum spray “indiscriminately”.
However Magistrate Peter Barnett said on consideration of all the evidence he was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt it was Maloney “who comes into contact with the constable”.
As such Mr Barnett said the assault and using violence to cause fear charges were also made out.
Maloney’s bail was continued and will be sentenced on April 20.
It comes after the groom, Joshua Norman Bovis, 29, was jailed in October for a non-parole period of six months for his role in the fracas, which included delivering a flurry of “five or six punches” to the face of the other officer.
His father Michael Bovis, who stepped in and tried to prevent the officer from arresting his son, was sentenced to an intensive corrections order for 12 months and fined $400 for his part in the drunken melee — which included breaking security guard Mr Paavola’s jaw, while another co-accused Cullen Richardson, 18, was given a community corrections order for 12 months and fined $100.