Closing submissions begin in Hobart lawyer Daniel John Bearman’s family violence case

A Hobart lawyer charged with assaulting his police officer girlfriend has been described in court as “a regular liar, but not a good liar”.

A HOBART lawyer facing family violence charges has been described in court as a “regular liar”, but not a good one.

Daniel John Bearman, 42, has pleaded not guilty to four counts of common assault, five counts of breaching a police family violence order, two counts of trespass and one count of destroying property.

Mr Bearman previously told the Hobart Magistrates Court he and a police officer began an intimate relationship in March or April of 2017.

He said the woman told him Tasmania Police’s internal affairs office had directed her not to associate with him, and alleged he was involved with certain groups.

Mr Bearman said the relationship did not end, but “went underground” until they agreed to end the relationship on January 1, 2018.

Mr Bearman has denied the charges against him, but agreed that he punched the woman’s former boyfriend when the man arrived at the woman’s house “because there was a strange man in the house that was assaulting my girlfriend … I was defending her, the house and myself”.

Mr Bearman denied allegations he placed the woman in a bear hug, restrained her and prevented her from leaving a bedroom.

He has also denied allegations that he assaulted the woman by grabbing her around the throat and by raising his fist and moving it towards her face in a threatening gesture.

He further denied breaching a police family violence order five times in April 2018, and said he did not destroy the woman’s iPhone or trespass on her property as had been alleged.

In closing submissions on Wednesday, police prosecutor Mark Miller said he wished to address issues of credibility of the cases’s key witnesses.

Mr Miller said the woman had been an honest witness who was “embarrassed and worried about the perception of her among her Tasmania Police colleagues”.

“It’s common knowledge that victims of family violence put up with it for a long time before they complain to law enforcement — not just put up with it, but deny it,” he said.

Mr Miller said Mr Bearman had tried to downplay the nature of the relationship and his evidence contained inconsistencies, backtracking and fabrications.

“He’s a regular liar, but not a good liar,” Mr Miller said.

The case, before Deputy Chief Magistrate Michael Daly, was adjourned until a later date to hear Mr Bearman’s lawyer’s closing submissions.