Corey Barker, 24, was taken into custody in January 2011 after attempting to help two friends in an aggressive street confrontation with police in Ballina. Details about his arrest have emerged in a damning Police Integrity Commission (PIC) report, tabled in parliament on Tuesday.
It found officers slammed Mr Barker into a bin and a chair before swinging him into a machine. He was then forced to the ground before being kicked in the head and kneed in the side.
"The police treatment of Barker can fairly be described as violent," the report said.
Mr Barker was handcuffed and dragged along the floor on his stomach by his arms to a cell where he was left in handcuffs for more than 90 minutes. "This method would have been acutely painful and was brutal," the PIC said.
It found constables David Hill, Lee Walmsley, Ryan Eckersley and Luke Mewing used excessive force against Mr Barker.
They were also found to have lied about the arrest, along with Senior Constable Mark Woolven and former sergeant Robert McCubben, who was medically discharged from the force last December.
The matter came before the PIC after Mr Barker fronted the courts in 2011 charged with the assault of Const Hill.
All six officers gave evidence Mr Barker punched Const Hill in the face while being walked from a holding cage to a cell.
But the assault case was thrown out after CCTV footage - at first thought to have been damaged - showed Mr Barker had in fact been the victim of a police attack. Police were ordered to pay his legal costs.
Commissioner Bruce James has recommended all six officers engaged in misconduct and should be considered for prosecution under the Crimes Act.
"The degree of force to which Barker was subjected was not reasonably required in order for the police to maintain full control," the report said.
"The degree of force was excessive."
The PIC also found Mr Barker did not assault Const Hill "and, in particular, did not punch, or even attempt to punch, Hill on the nose or face".
The commission dismissed police claims Mr Barker was kept bound in a cell because he might commit self harm or be violent toward officers.
"There was no justification for keeping Mr Barker handcuffed in a cell for an hour and forty minutes," the report said. The PIC found all of the officers had shared their statements, with each of them "adopting the assertions of Hill" who was found to "lack credibility".
Share
