Police angry as officer awaits possible ‘assault’ charge

Furious SA police are nervously waiting to see whether one of their own will face assault charges.

Senior Constable Alison Coad, who became the face of the campaign for better legal protections against police assaults.

South Australian police are waiting to see whether one of their officers will face assault charges after he allegedly punched a graffiti vandal in self-defence as the ­offender allegedly spat repeatedly on his face and arm during his ­arrest.

The case has sparked great anger among SA police, including Senior Constable Alison Coad, who became the face of the campaign for better legal protections against police assaults after she contracted lifelong oral herpes when an offender deliberately spat in her mouth during an arrest in 2005.

“There are some people who think that this is what we signed on for and that once we put on the uniform, it is simply part of the job,” Constable Coad told The Australian yesterday.

“If a member of the general public was spat on, they would not write it off as being just one of those things.

“It is totally unacceptable, but sadly it’s the kind of stuff that police and people who work in corrections have to deal with all the time.”

The case involving the latest spitting incident and alleged police assault happened in July when three men were caught by police allegedly vandalising property in Adelaide’s south.

As a result of that incident, a 22-year-old man, Clarence Rahana Sydney Yates, was charged with marking graffiti, resisting arrest and assault.

The police statement at the time said the accused “assaulted police, including spitting on the face and arm of an officer”.

However, the two friends of Yates filmed his arrest, which they claim shows the officer hitting their friend.

Phone camera video taken by the men shows them launching a profanity-laden tirade against the officer after his hand comes into contact with Yates’s face.

“You smacked him in the face, you dog. You’re f..ked! You’re f..king done, dog! You pig! You f..king pig!” the men say on the ­recording.

Under South Australian law, it is illegal to publish information that suggests a police officer has been the subject of an internal complaint or disciplinary ­proceeding.

However, when Mr Yates appeared in court earlier this month, his lawyer, Stacey Carter, said the charges against her client would be contested.

“The police have contacted me, on behalf of my client, as they are investigating the police officer for an alleged assault against my ­client during the incident,” she ­revealed.

The Australian understands that the officer in question in the graffiti case has spoken to the Police Association about his ­situation.

Police across the state are watching the outcome closely.

Police Association secretary Mark Carroll said he could not comment on the matter until a decision was made on whether the officer would be charged.

Constable Coad said the case was “just another example of the total disregard and disrespect that people have for police”.

“No one should have to put up with this,” she said. “It’s not what we sign on for.”

Constable Coad said her illness had made her personal life ­“extremely hard” for both her partner and her young child.

“I have had my little fella say ‘Mum is it OK to kiss you?’ and I can’t kiss him on the lips or on the cheek when I have a breakout,” she said.

“The condition lays dormant but it then flares up again. I’ve had another breakout this week and been off work again.

“It’s horrible when it happens, not just for how it makes you feel but also because you miss work and feel like you’re not putting in.

“It also has a massive impact on intimacy but I am lucky to have such a loving and caring partner.”