Compo for prison guard Rodney Cotter wrongly convicted of assault

Prison guard Rodney Cotter, who was convicted by a magistrate of assaulting a prisoner, has had his conviction quashed and will be compensated.

Rodney Cotter was initially convicted of assault occasioning bodily harm after trial in the Brisbane Magistrates Court late in 2019. Picture: AAP

A Queensland prison guard convicted by a magistrate of assaulting a prisoner who became aggressive while being questioned by police has had his conviction quashed and will be compensated by the government.

District Court judge Brad Farr said the magistrate had erred in applying the law, misconceived evidence from police officers and security guards who were present, and unfairly dismissed the charged man’s own testimony, which was backed up by security footage.

During the appeal, the legal team acting on behalf of the police commissioner said setting aside the guilty verdict was appropriate and, sensationally, said the prosecution should never have proceeded.

“In fact, the respondent conceded from the bar table that this was a prosecution that, when the law was correctly applied to the appropriate facts, had no reasonable prospects of success and should not have proceeded,” Justice Farr said in his judgment.

Rodney Cotter was convicted of assault occasioning bodily harm after trial in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on November 7, 2019. The alleged victim, Matthew James Long, a prisoner at Woodford Correctional Centre, complained that Mr Cotter assaulted him in January 2018. According to the evidence, Long was awaiting parole when he was informed by police in an interview room at the prison that he faced another charge.

He became angry and, while storming from the room after threatening guards, argued with Mr Cotter, who responded by pushing Long against the wall and restraining him.

Other guards said the compliance technique Mr Cotter used to subdue Long was a common technique in which an officer triggers a pressure point under the jawline

During the Magistrates Court hearing, Mr Cotter said he thought he was about to be assaulted when he restrained Long, who was walking directly towards him.

He said he did “the only thing that I felt safe enough to do and grabbed hold of the prisoner”.

Mr Cotter denied he was in a “rage” when he pinned Long against the wall. “At that particular point in time, I did feel threatened,” he told the magistrate.

“I can’t tell you whether it was anger. I can tell you it was not ‘angry rage’ and when you are explaining to a prisoner the ramifications of assaulting staff while you are a prisoner in a correctional facility, it’s not done with a smile on your face.”

The magistrate said that because Long did not assault Mr Cotter, it was unwarranted to consider self-defence or provocation as a legal defence.

Judge Farr ruled the magistrate erred in her interpretation of the law. Mr Cotter was awarded costs of $7250.