Man jailed for kicking cop in the groin while angry, drunken mob gathered in Borroloola

A man who kicked a cop in the groin before escaping police custody with the help of an angry, drunken mob in Borroloola last month has been jailed for just over four months.

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A MAN who kicked a cop in the groin before escaping police custody with the help of an angry, drunken mob in Borroloola last month has been jailed for just over four months.

Shaun Evans, 41, pleaded guilty in the Darwin Local Court to assaulting police and drink- driving following the fracas on March 20.

The court heard Senior Constables Craig McCormack and Seumas Christie-Johnston had gone to the Mara camp where they understood Evans to be in breach of a domestic violence order.

The officers saw Evans driving a white Toyota Prado and stopped him for a routine breath test but he was “uncooperative” and failed to produce his licence or blow properly into the breathalyser.

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As they spoke to him, the court heard Evans forcefully opened his door, slamming it into both men and tried to escape but the officers pushed the door closed again and told him he was under arrest.

He continued to struggle and resist while the police were “surrounded by an aggressive mob of intoxicated (locals)” before Senior Constable Christie-Johnston sprayed Evans with capsicum spray.

The officers managed to handcuff him and tried to wash his face with a hose but he continued to resist and kicked Senior Constable Christie-Johnston in the groin with “a full force kick, causing immediate pain”.

The court heard the pair tried to ground stabilise Evans but one of the crowd grabbed Senior Constable McCormack and pulled him off the other man while others helped him to escape.

The two officers retreated to their vehicle “due to the volatile crowd”, while Evans and others continued to hurl threats and abuse until local elder Joyce Dirdi intervened.

Ms Dirdi calmed the mob and Evans eventually surrendered himself to the officers before later returning a blood-alcohol reading of 0.135.

In sentencing, judge Tanya Fong Lim said outback cops were entitled to the protection of the courts.

“Police officers are there to try and make everybody’s life easier by ensuring people don’t offend and when they are arresting someone they ought not be subject to this sort of behaviour,” she said.

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“I have seen many police officers suffer terrible burnout, that is they get so stressed, they’ve worked so hard, that they can no longer stay on in the community.”

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