’False’ details in reports made after pub brawl, arrest of trans woman Anya Bradford

A senior cop has admitted to falsifying paperwork following the dramatic arrest of transgender woman Anya Bradford at a pub in Sydney, a court has heard.

A Sydney cop has conceded he put false information in reports about his pub brawl with a transgender woman, despite pleading not guilty to the charge.

Senior Constable Mark Anthony Follington pleaded not guilty to assault and tampering evidence among other charges related to his clash with then 25-year-old Anya Bradford in May 2019.

Follington and his junior partner, Probationary Constable Mark Brown, were part of an anti-drug proactive police patrol called Operation Deadpool.

Anya Bradford allegedly abused police before her arrest. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Joel Carrett

The pair walked into the Golden Fleece Hotel at Liverpool in and CCTV captured them chatting with patrons and checking IDs.

The Downing Centre Local Court on Monday heard Ms Bradford walked out of the VIP room after telling the police to “f*** off”, calling them ”grunts”.

The CCTV appeared to show Follington and his partner follow Ms Bradford to the exit where the senior officer grabbed her arm.

Follington told the court he had felt something brush past his vest and he was putting Ms Bradford under arrest for assaulting an officer and offensive language.

“I believed at the time I was assaulted by Ms Bradford,” Follington told the court.

Policeman Mark Follington has pleaded not guilty to assaulting a transgender woman and then falsifying his records after arresting and charging her. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

But the officer conceded that version of events was different to what he‘d later put in official records.

One such police document, which the court heard was prepared by Follington, says Ms Bradford knocked the senior cop off balance after pushing past him in the pokie room.

Follington conceded the CCTV footage shows no such thing and agreed it was “false”.

The CCTV appears to show Ms Bradford trying to exit the pub as the officers block her from reaching the doors before the situation wildly escalates.

The court heard Ms Bradford and the officers began brawling as the young woman tried to break free.

The Fleece‘s publican told the court he thought Follington was almost “kicked in the dusters” - he meant the groin.

At one point the CCTV shows Ms Bradford thrown into the ATM before she flees the pub, down the street, and enters a building lobby.

The police are quick on her heels and cameras capture them pulling her from an elevator, wrestling her to the ground and placing her under arrest.

The junior officer had tasered Ms Bradford and hit her with OC spray in the melee, the court heard.

The senior officer denied he “clotheslined” Ms Bradford and denied he told his junior partner to ”keep to the story”.

The case will return to court for a second day of hearings on Tuesday.