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NT cop accused of assaulting Aboriginal women on a call-out fights charges in court

In body worn camera footage played to the court, the officer can be heard saying he had to ‘put her on her arse’ after she spat at him and she had been ‘crying ever since’.

NT cop Raymond Neilson-Scott has pleaded not guilty to assault. Picture Glenn Campbell
NT cop Raymond Neilson-Scott has pleaded not guilty to assault. Picture Glenn Campbell

AN NT Police officer accused of assaulting three Aboriginal people during a call-out in Berrimah last year is contesting the charges in the Darwin Local Court.

Raymond Neilson-Scott pleaded not guilty to two counts of aggravated assault and one count of common assault following the incident on March 23.

Neilson-Scott is accused of pushing over a woman — who has since died of unrelated causes and cannot be named for cultural reasons — and her mother, Wendy Lalara, after the younger woman allegedly spat at him.

The court heard Neilson-Scott went to the unit after another family member reported the deceased woman’s father, Solomon Mamarika, was armed with a knife.

In body worn camera footage played to the court, Neilson-Scott can be heard saying he had to “put (Ms Lalara’s daughter) on her arse” after she spat at him and she had been “crying ever since”.

“I had to use force on the witness because she was spitting on my face,” he says on the tape.

“She’s playing stupid because I put her on her arse.”

In the footage, Neilson-Scott says “no one spits on my face” but later says the woman was “not deliberately” spitting on him.

Ms Lalara told the court her daughter had just got back from dialysis treatment that day and was drinking water when she spoke to Neilson-Scott and some of it came out and landed on his face.

“She was drinking a cup of water because her mouth and throat was very dry”, she said.

“But he thinks she was throwing spit at him and that’s when he pushed her.”

Under cross examination, Ms Lalara agreed a drunk Mr Mamarika ran at their daughter with a steak knife and she was concerned for her safety but insisted “he didn’t really want to stab her”.

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The footage shows Mr Mamarika was arrested for allegedly assaulting police after Neilson-Scott says he “took a swing at me”.

The hearing continues on Friday.

Original URL: https://www.ntnews.com.au/news/crime-court/nt-cop-accused-of-assaulting-aboriginal-women-on-a-callout-fights-charges-in-court/news-story/708b418cf0016225b2e16c96923d22d8