Mitchell Aitken: Sydney police officer guilty of assault at The Rocks

A burly city cop unleashed two cheap punches to the guts of a man who was being held down by another police officer.

A burly city cop who unleashed two cheap punches to the guts of a middle-aged man who was being held down by another police officer has said he got carried away.

Constable Mitchell Anderson Aitken, 32, had been patrolling The Rocks in June 2019 when he encountered a 45-year-old man heading home after a night drinking and eating with his family and friends.

Aitken has pleaded guilty to assault.

Shortly after the victim left The Orient pub about 2am he sprayed a young woman being treated by ambulance officers with a “smart comment” by telling her to get off the drugs and that he’d call her mother, the agreed facts state.

The victim, described by witnesses as standing about 1.93cm tall, was asked to leave the area by a council ranger which he did. However, he walked away in the wrong direction and soon returned to the area in an effort to find his wife.

Constable Aitken, who had seen what had taken place, then entered the scene and “pushed” the victim away, court documents state.

He will be sentenced next month.

When the police officer pushed the victim once more a physical altercation took place, leading to the middle-aged victim being placed under arrest.

As Aitken’s colleague held the victim on the ground and efforts were being made to handcuff him, Aitken “stood up and punched (the man) twice in the stomach with a closed fist”, court documents state.

The victim was later taken to Day St police station and charged, however the offences were later withdrawn.

Court documents state Aitken described his actions as self-defence, as the victim had hold of him, but accepted he had gone too far.

In Downing Centre Local Court on Monday, the 32-year-old pleaded guilty to a single count of common assault. Two other assault charges were withdrawn and dismissed.

The police officer will be sentenced next month.