A man whose violent assault on a Wollongong taxi driver was captured on dashcam has told a court he acted in self defence because the driver bit him.
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Aaron Hillman attended Wollongong Police Station on May 18 after he recognised himself in footage – widely shared on social media as part of a police appeal - of the April 16 attack on Campbell Street.
Protesting his innocence at Wollongong Local Court on Monday, Hillman claimed the taxi almost hit him as he walked on the roadway with his brother about 9.30pm that night.
He told police he threw his hands up in the air in frustration, and walked to the cab to confront the driver when the taxi pulled over.
Hillman, 23, of Corrimal, admitted to striking the driver through the open window after the pair exchanged insults. But he claims “three or four” punches he subsequently landed were in self defence. “He grabbed my arm and put it straight in his mouth … my middle finger,” Hillman told the court.
“I put my hand on his face, trying to push him off it. But he wouldn’t let it go. He was biting very hard and just didn’t feel like he wanted to let go of me … It [the attack] was retaliation.”
Jarred Hillman gave evidence his older brother cried out “he’s biting me”, in the moments leading to the punches, which were obscured on the footage by a third man not identified in court proceedings. The court was shown a photo of Hillman’s finger with bleeding under the nail - an injury he attributed to biting.
Cab driver Sefedin Miftari attended Wollongong Police Station in the aftermath of the attack, with his face and shirt collar covered in blood.
Mr Miftari denies biting Hillman. He claims he stopped his taxi because a car in front of him went to turn into a driveway. He says Hillman approached him for a lift and grew angry when told he was en route to another fare and couldn’t drive the brothers home.
Hillman admitted downing 10-13 schooners of VB in the eight and a half hours leading to the attack.
The court’s understanding of events was clouded by the appearance, in the dashcam footage, of an unidentified man who pulled Hillman off the taxi. The man’s body obscures most of Hillman’s as he lands the punches.
“I’m satisfied … that Mr Hillman approached the taxi driver’s open window and I’m satisfied that he struck a blow of some sort through that window initially,” Magistrate Chris McRobert said. “What happens from there is confusing.
“I was ultimately unable to see with any certainly whether Mr Hillman’s left arm was still inside the cab at the time he was punching and that is unfortunate because if the video showed us the arm was still inside the cab that would be an end of the matter.”
The magistrate determined “most, if not all of [Mr Miftari’s] injuries must have been caused by Mr Hillman”.
Hillman was convicted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and placed on a good behaviour bond.