Two drunken episodes, one involving a spear, prompted a magistrate to suggest a Mangerton man give up drinking when he appeared in Wollongong Local Court.
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Bruce Peter Whiddett pleaded guilty to one charge of having an offensive implement in a public place and one count of possessing a prohibited drug.
Whiddett appeared at a hearing in Wollongong Local Court on Thursday after a drunken episode with officers in September 2021 and a September 13, 2020 incident where he was charged with resisting arrest and hindering police in the execution of duties.
In documents tendered to the court, police were called to Mount Keira Road and Yellagong Street on Saturday, September 4, 2021 at 10.10 am.
Several neighbours phoned triple zero after seeing Whiddett, 61, from Mangerton, walking on the footpath with a spear in his hand.
When police arrived they called to Whiddett and asked him to lay on the ground and drop his weapon. Whiddett refused, saying he was too old.
Officers approached Whiddett from behind and took him to the ground in the process, knocking him unconscious.
Paramedics were called to the scene because Whiddett appeared intoxicated, was in a state of confusion and was unable to communicate properly.
Whiddett was taken to Wollongong police station and charged with wielding a knife in public, having an offensive implement and drug possession (1.2 grams of methamphetamine).
He faced Wollongong Local Court on September 5, 2021, via video-link and was granted conditional bail.
Whiddet was already facing charges of assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest at a Mangerton apartment block on September 13, 2020.
In Wollongong Local Court on Thursday, the Crown Prosecutor played police body-worn video of that arrest.
Solicitor Max Staples argued the first crime scene was not lawfully established.
"Leading Senior Constable Daniel O'Leary did not introduce himself when he arrived at the unit," Mr Staples said.
There was no evidence to suggest Whiddett, the lawyer said, had resisted arrest or assaulted police.
"The video evidence does not show that Whiddett elbowed Officer O'Leary in the head and there is no other evidence of him striking police," Mr Staples said.
Magistrate Wallace said a lot of things described by police did not occur.
"The video doesn't corroborate the officer's description of the assault and the court cannot accept two different descriptions of the event," he said.
"The accused had half a bottle of whiskey in him so was not sober at all. I doubt whether it was reasonably practical to arrest him at this point.
"It reminds me of the movie Zulu, where British soldiers are fighting off the Zulus and the army is asking for extra ammo to fight the Zulus," he added.
"Meantime a man is lying partly injured in the apartment with a stab wound to his chest ... and Whiddett abuses police for parking in a spot that could be used by an ambulance," Magistrate Wallace said.
"Officers were faced with a serious situation. They had to comply with safeguards, even if the bloke said he didn't do it.
"We expect police to comply with dotting the Is and crossing the Ts.
"As for police acting unlawfully, a police officer acts in the execution of his duty as a police officer," Magistrate Wallace said.
Whiddett was given a suspended sentence and intensive correction order for 18 months including 100 hours of community service for the charges of carrying and offensive weapon and drug possession.
"If you can give up drinking then maybe you can avoid any future corrections orders," Magistrate Wallace said.
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