Trainee cop and sister avoid conviction for Wollongong pub brawl
A student police officer has abandoned dreams of entering the force after she and her sister punched a woman more than a dozen times during a Wollongong nightclub brawl.
Illawarra Star
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A thrown glass, a couple of middle fingers and some unruly dance floor behaviour kicked off a nightclub brawl involving two sisters in the Wollongong CBD, a court has heard.
Georgia Hubbard, 24, and her younger sister Chelsea Hubbard, 22, fronted Wollongong Local Court on Tuesday to learn their fate after pleading guilty to affray relating to the fight in the Illawarra Hotel earlier this year.
The Hubbards were at the popular drinking hole with some friends just before 10pm on Sunday, June 12, when the scuffle unfolded with victim Renee Jones.
The court documents said CCTV captured footage of Ms Jones knocking into other patrons – including the Hubbards – on the dance floor.
The footage showed Ms Jones flicking the bird to the sisters on two occasions before she threw a glass in their direction which smashed on a pole behind them before the liquid splashed over them.
Ms Jones has not been charged in relation to this matter.
The Hubbards‘ lawyer Matt Ward said this was the “provocation” which led to his clients’ reaction with Chelsea staunching up to Ms Jones before punching her five times before pulling the victim to the ground by her hair.
The documents said Georgia, who was training to become a police officer at the time, was seen approaching the victim before striking her approximately nine times.
According to the documents, Ms Jones then grabbed her hair and pulled her to the floor.
Chelsea punched Ms Jones a further three times before security stepped in and separated the women with Ms Jones escorted out of the establishment via a side door.
Police attended the Illawarra Hotel shortly after where they were alerted about the altercation before being pointed to Ms Jones who was sitting on a nearby bench with the officers approaching her and taking a statement.
The police then spoke with the sisters, who were still inside the venue, with Georgia telling them “everyone was fighting, she grabbed my hair” and Chelsea saying ”[Ms Jones] threw a punch on my jaw at me.”
In court on Tuesday, Mr Ward asked Magistrate Robert Walker to not record a conviction against the women given they were not “habitual brawlers”.
“We accept the reaction was entirely inappropriate, but there was clear provocation,” Mr Ward said before highlighting it was the victim – not his client – who were escorted from the venue.
The court heard Georgia, whose professional suitability as a policing student was suspended after being charged, is no longer pursuing a career in the police force and is now “working on the wharves” at Port Kembla.
Mr Walker agreed with Mr Ward‘s submissions and chose not to record a conviction while placing both of them on a six-month conditional release order.
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