Hobart Magistrates Court: Lakisha Cooper, Maria Lovell in court over wild Salamanca fight

Two young best friends’ boozy night out turned sour when one of them was kicked in the head, leading to a wild, hair-pulling fight which stopped Salamanca traffic. See what happened in court >>

Sorell woman Lakisha Elizabeth Faye Cooper, 19. Picture: Facebook

Two best friends’ “girls night out on the drinks” at a popular Salamanca Place watering hole led to a violent melee in the middle of the roadway, holding up traffic while one of the pair and a third woman grappled and pulled each other’s hair on the roadway.

Applause rang out as 1am revellers watched Sorell’s Lakisha Elizabeth Faye Cooper, 19, and Kingston’s Maria Jane Lovell, 31, slapped with handcuffs by Tasmania Police officers, who separated them as they rolled around pulling each other’s hair on the roadway, preventing banked taxis and other vehicles from passing through the party precinct.

Both women were charged with disturbing the public peace.

Lovell pleaded guilty to the charge on March 21 in Hobart Magistrates Court.

She was fined $319.30, with a conviction recorded.

Follow @humidityreport

Cooper appeared in Hobart Magistrates Court on Friday, where she was found not guilty of the charge on the basis she was acting in self-defence.

She previously pleaded guilty to a charge of disorderly conduct, which occurred at McDonald’s North Hobart in the hours after her violent confrontation with Lovell. Cooper was placed on an 18-month good-behaviour bond with a conviction recorded.

The court was told the fight between Cooper and Lovell occurred about 1am on February 6 this year at Salamanca Place.

Cooper and her friend, Maddison Stella Brimfield, 21, were having a “girls night out on the drinks,” in the words of Cooper, when Brimfield was “kicked in the head” during an unrelated altercation with an unknown person outside Grape Food and Wine Bar.

Kingston woman Maria Jane Lovell, 31. Picture: Facebook

There is no allegation of wrongdoing against Ms Brimfield, nor was she charged with any offences.

According to Cooper, who gave evidence, after the attack on Ms Brimfield, Lovell, who she had never met, confronted her, accusing her of being the one who “kicked my best friend in the head”.

Cooper said she tried to disengage, but Lovell followed her onto the roadway.

“She said she was going to kick me in the head and show me what it’s like, she was grabbing me and pulling me, trying to get me to the ground,” Cooper said.

The pair ended up writhing on the ground pulling at each other’s hair, which is when a passing Tasmania Police patrol stopped to separate the pair.

Body-worn camera footage played to the court captured dozens of revellers applauding as the officers slapped the pair with handcuffs and led them.

Lakisha Cooper's best friend, Maddison Stella Brimfield, 21. Picture: Facebook

Tasmania Police alleged Cooper acted with excessive force in defending herself, including by “throwing” Lovell onto the roadway.

There was also an allegation that Lovell confronted Cooper because she stole her handbag – Lovell made this claim to officers after the two were separated. Cooper denied this.

Neither claim – of excessive force in self-defence or handbag stealing – was accepted by the magistrate, who found Cooper’s actions were proportionate, in light of the fact Lovell started the fight.

The court heard Cooper’s disorderly conduct related to an Uber ride after she was told to leave the city after she was bailed on the disturbing the public peace charge.

Cooper asked the driver to make a stop at McDonald’s North Hobart, but when there, the driver cancelled due to the defendant’s “level of aggression and intoxication”.

Cooper was yelling loudly and slurring her speech, the court heard.

The court was told Cooper also received an infringement notice last year following an “altercation with another woman”.

“It seems alcohol and (you) don’t go together… when (you) get intoxicated, (you) fire up,” the magistrate commented.

Originally published as Hobart Magistrates Court: Lakisha Cooper, Maria Lovell in court over wild Salamanca fight