Fine and good behaviour bond over resisting arrest
A ROUTINE check on a man sleeping in his car descended into a violent struggle between the occupant and two police officers, with the officers claiming they thought Ali Al Kadhemi was trying to take hold of one of their guns.
Fairfield
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A routine check on a man sleeping in his car descended into a violent struggle between the occupant and two police officers, with the officers claiming they thought Ali Al Kadhemi was trying to take hold of one of their guns.
A Fairfield Local Court hearing, where Al Kadhemi was defending charges of resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer, heard this week he was repeatedly punched in the head by Constable Staci Bateup as she feared he was reaching for Constable Elias Faljoun’s firearm during his attempt to arrest him.
The melee started when the officers tried to rouse Al Kadhemi who had been asleep in his running car on Smart St in Fairfield outside his father’s home in the early hours of December 16 last year.
The officers asked him repeatedly if he was drunk or if he had anything illegal in the car, which Al Kadhemi denied.
When Al Kadhemi reached for his phone in the car’s centre console, the officers told the court they feared he was reaching for a weapon.
Constable Bateup was struck in the head during the arrest and sustained gravel rash on her knuckles after her fist slipped from Al Kadhemi’s head and connected with the road, the court heard.
Al Kadhemi’s brother Aqeel came out of the house when he heard his brother desperately screaming his name.
Aqeel took his brother’s phone and began recording the incident from a distance while Al Kadhemi continued to wrestle with Constable Faljoun.
Constable Bateup repeatedly told Aqeel he was not allowed to film and he was charged with hindering police.
Magistrate Julie Huber told the court there was no evidence Al Kadhemi had fought for the firearm, though he was in a position where his hands were on top of it.
Magistrate Huber also said Constable Faljoun appeared from time to time to be “exaggerating his evidence” and “justifying certain actions with information he said he had that night, which in cross examination he admitted he had not”.
“I found he was not a particularly good witness,” she said.
Magistrate Huber said Constable Bateup was so traumatised she could barely hold her cup of water as she gave evidence in court on Tuesday.
“When she described the accused’s proximity to the firearm, she displayed signs of what could be regarded as post traumatic stress,” Magistrate Huber said.
“She was in tears, she was shaking and used both hands to drink water out of her glass, saying “all I could think of was I’m going to be shot”.”
On the night of the incident Al Kadhemi had decided to sleep in his car rather than disturbing his family after arriving home so late he would only have an hour before he had to rise for morning prayers and work.
He had no prior criminal record, though the court heard he had warnings in police systems for previously being found in possession of large amounts of cash.
Al Kadhemi, who was born in Iran and previously owned a convenience store in Enmore, also said he had never been in a situation like this before.
“I’ve been living here for 15 years. I respect everybody - I even wanted to become a police officer and I studied at university before I stopped because of my conditions,” he said.
“I had a shop for seven years and I just bought another company- I’ve never been in trouble, never punched no-one, never harmed anyone.”
Al Kadhemi was found guilty of resisting Constable Faljoun’s attempts to arrest him, fined $800 and placed on an 18-month good behaviour bond.
He was found not guilty of assaulting or resisting Constable Bateup after evidence failed to prove who struck her during the incident.
Al Kadhemi’s brother Aqeel had a charge of hindering Constable Bateup dismissed after Magistrate Huber found he was within his rights to record the incident on his mobile phone as Al Kadhemi called desperately for his help.
IN OTHER NEWS
Al Kadhemi was found guilty of resisting Constable Faljoun’s attempts to arrest him, fined $800 and placed on an 18-month good behaviour bond.
He was found not guilty of assaulting or resisting Constable Bateup after evidence failed to prove who struck her during the incident.
Al Kadhemi’s brother Aqeel had a charge of hindering Constable Bateup dismissed after Magistrate Huber found he was within his rights to record the incident on his mobile phone as Al Kadhemi called desperately for his help.