Judgment reserved for SA Police officer Aidan Allt standing trial on assault

A magistrate will decide if a police officer’s attack on a resisting prisoner was justified after he punched him several times to the head.

An SA Police officer has argued his use of force on a prisoner was justified as he was resisting while being stripped of his clothes.

A magistrate will now determine if police officer Aidan Allt, 35, was acting lawfully in his duties after a trial in the Adelaide Magistrates Court.

CCTV played to the court this week shows Jordan Ljubicic, 24, being held down by multiple officers in a padded cell at the Elizabeth police station.

Mr Allt, who was the officer-in-charge on June 19, 2022 can be heard saying: “If you f***ing resist anymore, you’re going to get sprayed. Do you understand?”

He then says: “No you’re f***ing not, you’re being a c***”, to which Mr Ljubicic replies “No I’m not”.

SA Police officer Aidan Allt faces four charges of aggravated assault over alleged excessive use of force. Picture: Instagram

Jordan Ljubicic was allegedly assaulted by SA police officer Aidan Allt. Picture: Facebook

Mr Ljubicic can then be heard coughing and yelling “help” after the OC spray was deployed “point blank” in his face by Mr Allt.

Mr Allt then takes out his baton and puts it in his hand to make a “reinforced fist” before delivering multiple punches to Mr Ljubicic’s head.

Chris Edge, for the prosecution, told the court in his closing statement the conduct of Mr Allt was criminal, which was made clear by the CCTV footage.

“The prosecution case here is that this case does not come close to the sorts of cases that can be justified,” he said.

The court heard other police officers deployed force on Mr Ljubicic during the incident but Mr Edge said their force was low-risk, approved techniques for particular purposes.

Mr Edge said Mr Allt’s report on the incident was full of “demonstrable lies” that made the alleged assault seem justified.

The court heard Mr Allt claimed Mr Ljubicic was trying to assault the police, that he deployed the OC spray from 1m away and his punches were aimed at the arm area of Mr Ljubicic but he slipped through sweat.

Mr Edge said it was “an absurdity” that someone could make the same mistake five or six times in a row.

Mr Allt, of Salisbury, pleaded not guilty to four counts of aggravated assault.

Ljubicic, who pleaded guilty to drug trafficking, was handed a suspended sentence in December last year after police found 173 fake Xanax tablets, $1275 cash and drug dealing related texts on his phone.

An SA Police spokeswoman previously told The Advertiser Mr Allt had been “suspended from duty” after an “internal investigation”.

Magistrate Roderick Jensen reserved his decision until next month.

Originally published as Judgment reserved for SA Police officer Aidan Allt standing trial on assault