Officer defends tasering of man who died

9 Oct 2012, 8:30 pm   -   Source: AAP

A Sydney police officer has said he felt justified in tasering Brazilian student Roberto Laudisio Curti, saying he would have been no match for him.

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The police officer who brought down Brazilian student Roberto Laudisio Curti with a Taser charge says he probably would have used the weapon even if he had known the young man was being sought only for stealing biscuits.

The inquest into the 21-year-old's death on Tuesday heard evidence from Senior Constable Eric Lim, who fired the Taser charge that brought the 21-year-old student to the ground for the final time on March 18 this year.

Mr Curti died a few minutes later as 11 officers tried to restrain him, after they had applied 14 Taser discharges and used capsicum spray, handcuffs and a baton to combat what they described as the young man's "superhuman strength".

Glebe Coroners Court heard Sen Const Lim was one of several police officers who chased after Mr Curti, who was suffering from an adverse reaction to a small amount of LSD he had taken with mates the night before to celebrate St Patrick's Day.

He had stolen two packets of biscuits from a convenience store, and some police officers mistakenly believed they were dealing with an armed robber, the inquest has heard.

As Sen Const Lim got within a few steps of Mr Curti, he discharged his Taser, bringing him to the ground.

"At that time I believed I was justified in using it," he told the court.

"I knew if I did make a tackle with him, not knowing where the other police officers were behind me, no doubt I would have been no match given his behaviour and his strength."

He said he did not know the chase had been sparked by the theft of biscuits.

"Would that have influenced you, had you known it?" counsel assisting the coroner, Jeremy Gormly SC, asked.

"Probably not, no," Sen Const Lim said.

"(It was) the fact that as a result of making the arrest, I might have been injured," he said.

Forty seconds later, as four or five other officers attempted to restrain Mr Curti, Sen Const Lim said he discharged the Taser again.

"Mr Curti was trying to buck the five police off him," he said.

"It appeared to me they had been overpowered and couldn't gain control, so I did it a second time."

Sen Const Lim said he did not see any officers "drive-stun" Mr Curti as he lay on the ground - a practice in which a Taser is discharged while being held against the body - or apply capsicum spray, although he now knew they had.

He said he was "surprised", when Mr Curti was rolled over, to see white foam coming out of his mouth.

One of Mr Curti's sisters, Ana Laudisio, left the court during Sen Const Lim's evidence.

The family earlier approved the public release of video footage from the police officer's Taser camera, showing Mr Curti's final struggle with police.

"This vision is incredibly distressing to the family," they said in a statement.

"But we believe it is very important that the public see Beto's final moments and see how he was treated by the police after being tasered, handcuffed and sprayed with capsicum.

"Only through honesty and transparency will we get to the truth of what happened, why and who is responsible."

Earlier the court heard evidence from an eye-witness that Mr Curti was yelling "like a wild animal" after police brought him to the ground the first time.

"He was yelling and trying to get away, twisting and writhing and yelling," Wendy Price said.

Another witness, Tommy Chang, said he thought police had acted "quite violently" and a female officer had kicked Mr Curti as he lay on the ground.

The inquest continues before NSW Coroner Mary Jerram.

Taser , Roberto Laudisio Curti

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