By Adrian Proszenko
Latrell Mitchell and Jack Wighton are considering taking civil action after charges against the footballers were withdrawn, as it emerged the most senior police officer involved in the arrest was previously found to have used excessive force.
Prosecutors on Wednesday dropped fighting charges against the NRL stars after the case against them unravelled when Sergeant David Power admitted to giving false evidence.
It can be revealed that Power was involved in an incident five years ago in which he and a colleague used excessive force in removing a suspect from a taxi during an alleged drug bust.
“I cannot find beyond reasonable doubt that Senior Constable Power and [colleague] were exercising their functions as territory public officials, by not using more force upon the defendant than was necessary and reasonable to make the arrest or to prevent the defendant’s escape,” ruled ACT magistrate Glenn Theakston in the 2018 case. “Accordingly, I find the two resist territory public official charges not proved.”
Magistrate Theakston also dismissed the drug charges levelled against the defendant.
Speaking to media outside the ACT Magistrates Court on Wednesday, Mitchell described his arrest as “traumatic”.
Latrell Mitchell and Jack Wighton embrace outside the ACT Magistrates Court.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
In footage of the arrest, Mitchell could be heard crying out in pain and screaming “please” as friends begged officers to stop their “police brutality” as they handcuffed him. The court heard that Mitchell feared for his life and was a “weeping mess”.
“I hope everyone knows and understands the seriousness of what’s going on,” Mitchell said. “For the last 10 months it’s been very hard for not only myself but my family and what they’ve had to read and endure. [It’s a] traumatic experience that I’ve had of Canberra.”
Wighton addresses the media after the case was dismissed.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Wighton added: “You have to thank your family for backing you through moments like this. It was a long 12 months, a couple of big mistakes made, and we come to this result.”
Asked outside the court if he felt the players had sufficient grounds for a civil case, Mitchell’s solicitor Tom Taylor replied: “Yes, I do.”
‘For the last 10 months it’s been very hard for not only myself but my family and what they’ve had to read and endure.’
NRL star Latrell Mitchell
Taylor said the ACT attorney-general was aware of the case and was proposing a review once the outcome was made public.
“There is a sobering reality to the way Mr Mitchell was dealt with by the police,” Taylor said. “Three to four grown men forced themselves on top of him, face down in the concrete. But for his extraordinary strength, he might not have survived. Any other person could have died from positional asphyxiation. We know Indigenous people are dying in custody. We know Indigenous people are more likely to be arrested.”
Jack Wighton and Latrell Mitchell as State of Origin teammates for NSW.
“Due to the courage of Mr Mitchell and Mr Wighton to push back against these false allegations, they have been able to clear their names. But not everyone gets that chance.”
Mitchell, 25, had been charged with affray, fighting in a public place and resisting a territory official, while Wighton, 30, was charged with fighting in a public place and failing to comply with an exclusion direction.
The case fell apart when Sergeant Power admitted in the witness box on Tuesday that key details he provided in the case did not occur.
Power had previously alleged he kicked Wighton out of Fiction nightclub after he saw the NRL star with clenched fists, anger on his face and holding a man by the shirt.
Police alleged Wighton and Mitchell had then fought each other outside the venue, and that they had to intervene to break up the fight and arrest Mitchell.
The matter concluded after prosecutor Sam Bargwanna opted not to tender any further evidence on Wednesday morning.
Mitchell and Wighton, who are poised to become teammates at South Sydney in 2024 after the latter finished his playing commitments with the Canberra Raiders, embraced when Magistrate Jane Campbell formally dismissed the case.
Raiders CEO Don Furner, who alongside Rabbitohs counterpart Blake Solly, were present during the proceedings to support the players, described the entire matter as “an extraordinary waste of the court’s time and taxpayer money”.
“They were targeted because they were NRL players. I will say that I don’t think that’s the last the ACT Police and the DPP would have heard of this.”
with AAP
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