Sports physio William La Palombara cleared of assaulting cop outside Illawarra school

The CEO of Southern Sports Physio has walked from court not guilty of assaulting a police officer outside a school in Thirroul after the prosecution case collapsed.

A professional sports physiotherapist has walked away from court cleared of all charges after being accused of assaulting a police officer outside of northern Illawarra primary school in February, last year.

William La Palombara, who is the chief executive of Southern Sports Physio in Engadine, fronted Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday for a hearing after pleading not guilty to assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest, behaving in an offensive manner in a public place and stopping in a no stopping zone.

It was the second time the matter was listed for hearing after it was adjourned in October, however the prosecution case suffered an ultimately insurmountable blow when the Officer in Charge and the alleged victim, Senior Constable Adam Tregoniene, was unable to appear.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Sean Thackray sought to have the hearing adjourned for six weeks, submitting Senior Constable Tregoniene was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder exacerbated by a car crashing into him while the driver was attempting to dodge a roadside breath test station.

The defence team of barrister Steve Boland and instructing solicitor Caitlin Drabble opposed the application given the lack of comprehensive documentation tendered to the court about the alleged victim’s condition.

“The fact of the matter is we are here for a hearing and I have got nothing other than assertions to support it,” Magistrate Michael O’Brien said.

“What you (Sergeant Thackray) are saying is you want an adjournment to get an adjournment.”

The hearing proceeded without Constable Tregoniene – or any other witnesses – with the prosecution playing police bodycam footage of the incident outside St Michael’s Catholic Primary School in Thirroul.

The court saw Constable Tregoniene attempting to issue a parking ticket for La Palombara allegedly stopping his Audi in a no stopping zone shortly after 3pm before the accused unleashed what Sergeant Thackray described as a “barrage of abuse”.

The altercation took place outside St Michael's Catholic Primary School in Thirroul.

La Palombara could be heard calling the officer a “f--king a--hole”, a “d--k” and a “f--king c--t” with Constable Tregoniene warning “Watch your language or I’ll lock you up mate” for his foul behaviour.

The officer called La Palombara a “dope” as the verbal tirade continued with the accused calling Constable Tregoniene the aforementioned insults as well as a “f--king waste of space”.

The footage depicted La Palombara moving closer to Constable Tregoniene who pushed him onto the back of the Audi before grappling with him and pressing him against the car bonnet.

Constable Tregoniene was assisted by passers-by in restraining the accused who could be heard screaming “I will f--king rip your head off” and “my f--king shoulder you f--king c--t” with someone heard saying he had just had a shoulder operation.

Mr Boland objected to the video, arguing there was “no human evidence sitting in the courtroom” who could be examined about its veracity.

“The police don’t get any favours from the court,” Mr Boland submitted.

“If we got CCTV from a 7-Eleven with just a timestamp the court could not accept that.

“All it would take is someone with an unknown identity embedding a time stamp and you have a miscarriage.”

William La Palombara leaving Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday. Picture: Dylan Arvela

The magistrate ruled the footage was inadmissible and as a result found La Palombara not guilty of all charges.

La Palombara held his head in his hands as the decision was made and was excused from the courtroom as Mr Boland began an application for costs, stating the police had “initiated proceedings without reasonable cause”.

Mr Boland explained how his client was not stopped in a no stopping zone, he was in fact waiting in traffic, going on to say Constable Tregoniene had no reason for booking La Palombara.

The defence, while replaying the bodyworn footage, also said Constable Tregoniene was being “highly derogatory” and “incendiary” and “should have been trained to de-escalate the situation”.

Mr Boland also submitted the bodyworn video did not depict anything amounting to assaulting a police officer.

Sergeant Thackray said it was a “shameful submission to say the officer was acting inappropriately” – a comment Mr Boland took exception to.

“There was a strong prosecution case,” Sergeant Thackray continued.

“It failed due to the unavailability of a constable due to unfortunate circumstances. There is no grounds for awarding costs.”

Magistrate O’Brien described the hearing as “not easy” and opted to hand down his decision whether costs would be awarded in April.