The four police officers charged with assault in relation to the death of Brazilian student Roberto Laudisio Curti following an allegedly violent arrest have pleaded not guilty in court.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Two of the police officers charged - senior constables Scott James Edmondson and Chin Aun Lim - are from the Illawarra.
Mr Curti, 21, died on Pitt Street in the early hours of March 18, 2012, following a chase and violent struggle with 11 police officers, many of whom were acting on incorrect reports of an armed robbery.
He had earlier jumped over the counter of a convenience store in an LSD-induced psychotic state and left with two packets of biscuits.
Two police officers spotted him wandering along Pitt Street and tried to speak to him before he ran off. More officers joined the chase and he was eventually caught.
Tasers were fired up to 14 times - nine of which hit Mr Curti - and he was restrained by seven officers using three cans of OC spray, two sets of handcuffs, a police baton and "half a tonne" of officers, an inquest heard last October.
The charges follow an investigation by the Police Integrity Commission.
Senior Constable Edmondson, 33, of Bulli, and Constable Daniel David Barling, 26, of the City Central Police Station, were charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Senior Constable Lim, 33, of Wollongong police station, and Senior Constable Damian John Ralph, 29, from NSW Police Headquarters in Parramatta, were charged with common assault.
The lawyer representing the quartet, Bill Madden, told Downing Centre Local Court: "My clients plead not guilty to the charges against them."
The officers were supported by about a dozen colleagues and supporters.
The matter will return to court on March 25.