As it happened: WA news on Tuesday, May 13

To breaking news now and Reagan Chown, the driver accused of killing WA Police officer Anthony Woods, has just been found guilty of manslaughter.

It took the Supreme Court of WA jury around three hours to reach their verdict.

He will be sentenced on July 3.

Reagan Chown in court.

The 25-year-old had argued during his trial he was not responsible for the tragedy because the officer shot him with a Taser, which caused him to lose control of a stolen car.

Constable Woods’ loved ones and colleagues, including WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch, wept with relief and hugged after the guilty verdict was delivered.

The court heard Chown and two others had fled from police in a stolen Holden Cruz before stopping in a cul-de-sac.

Woods, 28, opened the Holden driver’s door and attempted to detain Chown, who was behind the steering wheel.

The officer fired his Taser into the moving car before “falling and being dragged under the accused’s vehicle to his ultimate death”.

CCTV footage played for the jury showed the Holden reversing at speed, mounting a kerb and stopping after it hit a bollard.

During the video, Woods can be heard twice saying “stay where you are” and “Taser” as the vehicle moved backwards.

A loud crack can also be heard.

Prosecutor Justin Whalley explained during his opening submissions it was the sound of Woods’ Taser firing, before he disappears below the moving car.

“Constable Woods became trapped under the accused’s car,” Whalley said.

“He was taken to hospital but his injuries were not survivable.”

The court heard Woods’ death several days later was due to complications of cardiac arrest caused by mechanical compression of the chest and abdomen.

Whalley said Chown was attempting to flee before Woods Tasered him.

He said Chown was under the influence of methamphetamine and in possession of the drug when the incident happened.

Woods, who had just passed his probation, was farewelled before about 2000 police officers, family, friends and dignitaries at Perth’s Optus Stadium.

Outside court, Woods’ mother, Natalie Woods, said her family was overwhelmed and satisfied with the verdict.

“Now we can let him rest and start just living his memory the best way we can,” she said.

Blanch said Woods was a hero.

“He will always be in our memories,” he said.

“The blue family is hurting ... and we’ve been hurting since this happened, but today is a small piece of justice that will live in our hearts.”

Asked about Chown’s defence stating Woods had placed himself in a dangerous position, Blanch said the comments were “offensive and disgusting”.

“I reject any notion that Anthony should not have done what he did ... he did his job (and) he never got to go home from his shift that night,” he said.

AAP

We’re bringing our blog to a close for the day now, thank you for joining us. We will have more for you in our next live news coverage.

Here’s a recap of some of the day’s local headlines:

• Reagan Chown, the driver accused of killing WA Police officer Anthony Woods, was found guilty of manslaughter. It took the Supreme Court of WA jury around three hours to reach their verdict.

• Perth is on track to record one of the warmest Mays on record with temperatures hovering around four degrees above average all of this week.

• One of the two people killed on Sunday after getting out of their car in the emergency lane of Forrest Highway in South Yunderup has been identified as Harrison McElroy.

• The WA Greens claim there is “absolutely no way to make Woodside’s Browse project palatable” after the Environmental Protection Authority announced yesterday it was reopening public comment on the amended proposal.

• Premier Roger Cook has also been asked this morning to respond to a decision, saying he thought the EPA decision was a positive step and that he hoped to see the project, initially lodged six years ago, move towards approval.

• Prominent Perth lawyer Martin Bennett has revealed he was followed by WA Police in 2017 during the opening weeks of Lloyd Rayney’s high-profile defamation trial against the West Australian government.

• The jury in the manslaughter trial of the man accused of killing WA Police officer Anthony Woods has just retired to reach its verdict after seven days of hearing evidence.

• One of the three men accused of going on a rampage where the group smashed nearly 90 car windows in the western suburbs in one night last month has appeared in court.

• WA Police wrongfully arrested a Perth man twice in 2023 after recording his name incorrectly and not correcting it for more than four months, according to the CCC.

• Luke Jackson and Sean Darcy will spend more time rucking together in the AFL before Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir makes a call on whether it can work.

WA Police have issued a statement in response to the Corruption and Crime Commission report into a man wrongly arrested twice in 2023, which we reported on earlier.

A spokeswoman said the force didn’t always get it right, but that one mistake was one too many.

Here is the statement in full:

The Western Australia Police Force always strives to do its best for our community, however we accept we do not always get it right.

In this instance, following the internal investigations, three officers received sustained managerial outcomes.

Our agency and our officers are dealing with roughly 1.5 million calls for help every year. But we accept that even one mistake is one too many.

WA Police are always looking at ways our systems, policies and procedures can be improved to better protect our community and better support our officers.

To breaking news now and Reagan Chown, the driver accused of killing WA Police officer Anthony Woods, has just been found guilty of manslaughter.

It took the Supreme Court of WA jury around three hours to reach their verdict.

He will be sentenced on July 3.

Reagan Chown in court.

The 25-year-old had argued during his trial he was not responsible for the tragedy because the officer shot him with a Taser, which caused him to lose control of a stolen car.

Constable Woods’ loved ones and colleagues, including WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch, wept with relief and hugged after the guilty verdict was delivered.

The court heard Chown and two others had fled from police in a stolen Holden Cruz before stopping in a cul-de-sac.

Woods, 28, opened the Holden driver’s door and attempted to detain Chown, who was behind the steering wheel.

The officer fired his Taser into the moving car before “falling and being dragged under the accused’s vehicle to his ultimate death”.

CCTV footage played for the jury showed the Holden reversing at speed, mounting a kerb and stopping after it hit a bollard.

During the video, Woods can be heard twice saying “stay where you are” and “Taser” as the vehicle moved backwards.

A loud crack can also be heard.

Prosecutor Justin Whalley explained during his opening submissions it was the sound of Woods’ Taser firing, before he disappears below the moving car.

“Constable Woods became trapped under the accused’s car,” Whalley said.

“He was taken to hospital but his injuries were not survivable.”

The court heard Woods’ death several days later was due to complications of cardiac arrest caused by mechanical compression of the chest and abdomen.

Whalley said Chown was attempting to flee before Woods Tasered him.

He said Chown was under the influence of methamphetamine and in possession of the drug when the incident happened.

Woods, who had just passed his probation, was farewelled before about 2000 police officers, family, friends and dignitaries at Perth’s Optus Stadium.

Outside court, Woods’ mother, Natalie Woods, said her family was overwhelmed and satisfied with the verdict.

“Now we can let him rest and start just living his memory the best way we can,” she said.

Blanch said Woods was a hero.

“He will always be in our memories,” he said.

“The blue family is hurting ... and we’ve been hurting since this happened, but today is a small piece of justice that will live in our hearts.”

Asked about Chown’s defence stating Woods had placed himself in a dangerous position, Blanch said the comments were “offensive and disgusting”.

“I reject any notion that Anthony should not have done what he did ... he did his job (and) he never got to go home from his shift that night,” he said.

AAP

Luke Jackson and Sean Darcy will spend more time rucking together in the AFL before Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir makes a call on whether it can work.

Longmuir’s desire to persist with the tactic has been frustrated by a knee injury to Darcy, who is in doubt for their away match on Saturday against GWS.

Darcy competes in a ruck contest with Darcy Cameron of the Magpies. Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images

There has been plenty of commentary around the Darcy-Jackson combination and Longmuir was asked on Tuesday whether he was wavering.

He replied he wasn’t, but would like more evidence and time for them to work together.

“It’s just another hiccup in their partnership,” he said.

“I haven’t lost any confidence in how that can work.”

If Darcy is ruled out, it should only be for this weekend.

“We know it’s not too serious, which is a good sign,” Longmuir said, adding he would be conservative about whether Darcy played against the Giants.

“We won’t play him if there’s any risk,” he said.

Longmuir also replied emphatically to renewed speculation Jackson might seek a trade back to Melbourne.

Asked if anything had changed in his mind about Jackson’s future beyond this season, Longmuir simply replied “nothing”.

Last week’s loss to Collingwood left the Dockers in 11th, a game and percentage behind the eighth-placed Giants.

AAP

WA Police wrongfully arrested a Perth man twice in 2023 after recording his name incorrectly and not correcting it for more than four months.

The state’s corruption watchdog has now scolded police and claimed the agency’s response was inadequate.

The man, referred to under the pseudonym Mark, was accused of stealing a boat in January 2023.

During the dispute both the boat owner and Mark called 000 and his name was taken down incorrectly.

Using this incorrect name the 000 call-taker notified attending police of an outstanding breach of bail arrest warrant for Mark – only it wasn’t actually his warrant.

Police arrested him on suspicion of stealing the boat, stealing a SmartRider they had found in his possession and for breaching his bail, and kept him in custody overnight despite his fingerprints not matching the arrest warrant and him telling police his name had been taken down incorrectly.

The boat owner did not make a formal statement and when Mark attended court next morning the magistrate identified the error and he was freed.

The CCC labelled subsequent investigations inadequate; shockingly, its own investigation unearthed a second incident where Mark was arrested for the same bail breach in April 2023.

“He told the officers this was the second time this had happened. On this occasion, the officers listened and made further enquiries. They correctly identified [the man] and released him,” the commission said.

Three officers failing to correctly identify Mark were sanctioned but no further disciplinary action occurred.

The CCC was scathing:

A vulnerable man wrongfully spent a night in police custody. The gravity of this should have been considered appropriately from the start. This matter could have been avoided if the officers had undertaken basic checks on the information [the man] provided. The failure to follow basic procedure is concerning.

WA Police were contacted for comment.

Readers may recall how last month three men allegedly went on a car window smashing rampage in the western suburbs, damaging nearly 90 cars in one night.

Matthew Ryder leaving Perth Magistrates Court on Tuesday. Credit: 9 News Perth

Today, one of the accused men, Matthew Ryder, 20, fronted Perth Magistrate’s Court, but is yet to enter a plea in relation to the charges, which span several suburbs including Dalkeith, Wembley, Crawley, Peppermint Grove, Mosman Park and Fremantle.

The man, from Hamilton Hill, is charged with 11 counts of attempting to steal and nine counts of criminal damage.

He didn’t have much to say to awaiting media outside court, but did flip the bird as he walked down Hay Street following his brief hearing.

He is due back in court next week.

The jury in the manslaughter trial of the man accused of killing WA Police officer Anthony Woods has just retired to reach its verdict after seven days of hearing evidence.

Reagan Chown, 25, is accused of putting a stolen vehicle in reverse and running the constable over as Woods opened the driver’s door after a police pursuit in Ascot in June 2023.

WA Police Constable Anthony Woods.Credit: WA Police

Prosecutor Justin Whalley claimed Woods became wedged in the driver’s door, at which time Chown shifted into reverse and Woods deployed his Taser at him.

“The accused continued reversing,” he said.

“He hit a pole and got stuck on a post.

“Woods fell from the trapped position and ended up trapped under the vehicle.”

But defence lawyer Paul Bevilacqua said Woods deploying the Taser was a “fateful decision” that caused Chown to lose control of his body, and accidentally slam the car into reverse.

“What Chown did at the highest, was fail to obey a command to stop by a police officer ... a police officer who was in no immediate danger,” he said.

“[Woods] put himself in an extremely vulnerable position ... the driving did not cause the death of Constable Woods.”

Premier Roger Cook has been asked this morning to respond to a decision by the Environmental Protection Authority to reopen public consultation on Woodside’s $30 billion Browse proposal after the oil and gas giant modified its plans.

The revised proposal includes a reduction in the development envelope, which would mean drilling would no longer overlap the Scott Reef shallow water sea bed habitats or Sandy Islet.

Cook said he thought the EPA decision was a positive step and that he hoped to see the project, initially lodged six years ago, move towards approval.

“Woodside have been working with the EPA over a number of years around the Browse project, which is a very complex project, and that’s why they’re continuing to modify the project consistent with the conversations with the EPA and with the community,” he said.

“We have to balance economic prosperity with protecting our environment, and this is an important part of what we do in government, but we want to get it right.”

Prominent Perth lawyer Martin Bennett has revealed he was followed by WA Police in 2017 during the opening weeks of Lloyd Rayney’s high-profile defamation trial against the West Australian government.

Rayney dragged the state government to court in 2008, several months after a detective declared him “the prime and only suspect” in the murder of his wife and the mother of his two children, Supreme Court registrar Corryn Rayney.

Martin Bennett.Credit: Jesinta Burton.

The prominent barrister was arrested and charged with murder in 2010 before ultimately being acquitted two years later.

Speaking at a Business News breakfast on Tuesday, Bennett told managing editor Sean Cowan that he became aware he was being watched as the trial in the decade-long defamation case began.

“I went about six years without having had a breathalyser administrated… I had three in as many weeks of that trial,” he told the breakfast.

“One, maybe, but three was not a coincidence.

“I later found out that I was being followed for about the first three to four weeks of the trial, but I was intensely boring.”

Bennett recalled taking precautions after realising he was being surveilled, driving slowly to and from work, and rising early to take another vehicle for his daily swim.

He insisted he did not perceive the police action as intimidation, but an attempt to embarrass him.

He told the breakfast the incident was not nearly as intimidating as what unfolded while representing late BGC construction magnate Len Buckridge, during which time he alleged he was held at gunpoint by a unionist.

Rayney, a prominent barrister, secured more than $2.6 million in damages, one of the largest payouts ever awarded for a case of its kind in Australia.

Bennett’s firm, Bennett Litigation, later led and won a separate lawsuit against a former forensic investigator who inferred Rayney “got away with murder” during a Curtin University seminar.

The investigator was ordered to pay more than $400,000 in damages, but was declared bankrupt in 2024.

Corryn’s body was found buried head first at Kings Park in August 2007, about 10 days after she was last seen at a boot scooting class. The murder remains unsolved.

The WA Greens claim there is “absolutely no way to make Woodside’s Browse project palatable” after the Environmental Protection Authority announced yesterday it was reopening public comment on the amended proposal.

“Woodside’s attempts to slightly shift the goal posts do not change the fundamental risk this project poses to the pristine Scott Reef and the habitat it provides for vulnerable green sea turtles and endangered pygmy blue whales,” spokeswoman Sophie McNeill said.

“Slightly moving the drilling locations will not reduce the key risk to green turtles – the subsidence of Scott Reef and Sandy Islet which could spell the end of the genetically unique population of the Green Turtles that nest there.

“This is also a deceitful attempt by Woodside to try and downplay the risk of a massive spill at the pristine Scott Reef.”

The EPA WA took the unusual step of reopening public consultation on Woodside’s $30 billion Browse gas export project after the energy giant overhauled the contentious plan.

Woodside had sought approval to develop one of the three gas fields it discovered more than 50 years ago, about 425 kilometres north of Broome, and pipe gas 1000 kilometres to the 40-year-old North West Shelf plant for processing.

The proposal drew criticism for its proximity to the Scott Reef and endangered turtles as well as the risk of an oil spill, with this masthead obtaining FOI documents revealing the Environmental Protection Authority had formed the view that the proposal was unacceptable.

According to the EPA, the key changes include a reduction in the development envelope, which would mean drilling would no longer overlap the Scott Reef shallow water sea bed habitats or Sandy Islet.