ASSAULT ON A CONSTABLE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 77, 20 March 1908, Page 4

ASSAULT ON A CONSTABLE.

ASSAILANT SENT TO GAOL. 11l the Supreme Court on Wednesday. Alexander John Stewart was charged with luiviiig assaulted and caused bodily harm to Tudor Boddarn oil January Bth lael at New Plymouth, lie was ropreseated by Mr. A. H. Johnstone, and pleaded "not guilty." The following jury was cmpanneUcd: —H. Looney,'A. Yates, J. W. Uenriehs. R. C. Cleinow, A. W. Mace. »L Abbott, H. J. Hobbe, il. 0. Butcher, W. L. Humphries, R. L. Avery, and A. W. Bullot. Mr. llobbs was elected foreman.

Mr. lverr, Crown Prosecutor, after a | brief opening, called Tudor Bodiun, detective stationed at 'siew Plymouth, who said that at about ten o'clock p.m. on January BtU lie w>« sitting in the detective oflicc at the police station writing. The door was open, and the gas burning. Whilst so sitting, the accused ontered, walking up to and behind where he was, at the same tww asking, "Which of you has put my pot on with Hickman Kussell? I'll knife you.'' \Vitnoss got up and seized by the i<oat collar, and as lie rw and recognised him. llis face was very red, and his eyes bloodshot, and lie w.is apparently drunk. lie had caught witness by the coat collar, an as be ro= the prisoner tried to strike liim in tne face. Witness caught hold of him with the intention of putting him out of the office. "He resisted violently, and 1 threw him on the floor, landing on his knees. He got up immediately, an I tried to eatcli hold of me again. \\ * then struggled for a short time, nnd seeing that I could not do anything with the prisoner under ordinary circumstances, J knocked him down by hitting him 011 the chest with my list. I did this all in self-protection. Having got lum down 1 took my handcuffs out and handcuffed him. He remained lying on the floor, and 1 stood at the d«nr tor u minute or two waiting lor someone to pass by. There was no one 111 the station at the time." Two yoimg fellows passing, he sent tlieni for Sergeant Haddreli, and upon that officer nr riving the prisoner was locked up. During the assault witness had his thumb sprained, and he had it attended to by l)r. Walker. It was almost completely well again now. To Mr. Johnstone: The ollice was about lon by sft. The furniture consisted of a table and three chairs. Prisoner had no arms, and 110 knife, nor did lie show any marks of the struggle. Knew accused had been lodging toi

some time at a lodging-house almost op|w?itc the police -taiiou. He did wit know then what Stewart's grievance was. but he knew now. Had had a conversation with the man in the latter pari of October. The accused hail complained that the detective liaTl given information concerning the accused having been in gaol. He had never given any such information. Witness's weight was about 14 stone. To Mr. Kerr: He had never said any thing to prisoner's detriment. 011 the contrary, ho had shielded him on several occasions in answer to enquiries by people in the town. Walter Henry Haddreli, sergeant ot police at New Plymouth, gave evident that 011 the evening in question he le'i Detective Bodda'm writing in his office a few minutes before ten o'clock. Abwit ten or fifteen minutes later he received a message at his house, and went to tin police station. The accused was sitting 011 the floor in the detective's office, hand-cuffed. Detective ]!oddain said,

"Sep what this man lias done to my hand?" The hard was bleeding, and ( the injury was evidently painful. Both men looked as if they liad been stmggling. There were a few spots of lilo->4 about, and there were marks on the floor which showed that a struggle had e taken place. Took the prisoner into his own private room, and took the handcuffs oil' him. Accused, alio seemg cd to have been drinking, asked -what the sergeant was going to do with hita, and lie replied that he was going-i»Woek t him up. He said, "What's the cIMH I agaiust meV" and the witness "Assaulting the detective.'' j said, "Why, it was he v Took him towards the lock-up, tive Boddani following. Accused ( "That's where you've been get me for a long time." or As soon as he p took the detective to Dr. Walker'a^^M , Ur. E. A. Walker gave 3 having attended to Detective p who gave every evidence of t a «evere struggle. He was excited the pulse-rate was raised. He ' complaint of general injury, but tli.it his right thumb hail Is-eu Examination showed sw-elling, parts were tender to touch. a slight abrasion on the back hand. Attended him on four occasions. There, was a -plain right thumb, which would affect of the hand and cause pain for a six weeks. To Mr. Johiistoue: A sprain caused in many ways, and done ljuite independently of any This closed the case for the tion, and Mr. Johnstone did evidence. Addressing tin l jury, marked that this case extraordinary feature— t liat lwo I men I hail liad a scutl'lo, one received a feligiit injury, and the oiner was now charged

with having caused the injury. Tie facts alleged were of it positive kiuJ, a- »a- u-ital in police evidence. 1£ the jury as-umed that the accused was guilty—and they had no right to do so -the facts were against hiin. But, if I tliey assumed his innocence, the facts liore a very dillerent complexion. This man had lieeu in gaol until Ocjober last, and shortly before January Bth i:e had reason to believe that information concerning tliii had leaked out from the police. He was iiving almost opposite the police station, ami as he was pa-s----ing that night lie saw a light and went into tlie office to ask tile why and wherefore. lonise) submitted that he was ipiite entitled to go there when lie found his friends deserting him on nc count of this story leaking out. The J only evidence in support of the charge was that of the detective who had suffered the injury. The jury must Wr • in mind that participants in rapid en- 1 •e-ounters like this were apt to receive ' distorted impressions o£ what toOK ' place. Their recollection would not be. ■ as clear, for instance, a? that of ,i 1 mn.n standing by. lie submitted tiuii 1 lliis contention was borne out by the ' detective', evidence and verilicd by that 1

of Sergt. Haddiell and the actual result ol i in. encounter. The detective's evidence contained *uch phrases as ''eves bloodshot," "apparently very drunk."' "face very red,''' "struck out violently"; it was full of exaggeration, fcorgeaut lladilrell merely said "the man seeluod to be drunk."' And the result of the all'ray was an abrasion of a thumb. There were no black eyes or abrasions of other parts „f the body, as might have been expected. That sprained thumb might have been caused by striving a table during the iight. At any rat-e, it seemed to him thai the proseculion was making a mountain out of a niololiilll. There was no evidence that, t'he injury had been caused by the prisoner. He remarked that th« room was ~o -mall that it was Ivrd Co lielieve thai such a scull I e could take plac * tlieie. 'The prisoner had goto- to the. oflicp on legitimate business. Hud ee wanted to light the detective he would have trit'll to Catch liiui by himself, and

would not have gone to the police station which, for all he knew, might have contained a posse of police. There could, never Jmve been a eonlliet more uneipml than this. The detective was a big man, the other small; one had all the accoutrements of his ofltee at hand, and the other unarmed. Now, ut that hour

of the night, after a hard day's work, 1 the temper of the detective would not be improved by a man making Complaints. The whole question seemed i" be who started the tight. His Honor said that the jury had been told alKiut that. There was sworn ev; dernv that the an-used started it. and that e\ itlenee remained uncontradicted. He would direct the jury to abide hy the sworn evidence. He would advice the jury to acquit the acused on the charge of intent to do bodily harm, }«»r they could not prove that such was hi l * intention. Ihit on the charge of euiniiKiii assault they must rely on the sworn evidence unless that was palpably uuirue, and there was no ground for supposing that. Defending countoj had told them of the reason of the visit,, but he hud not alleged that the accUft>«( had just, learned of the report, and acted on tiie spur of the moment. The jury was asked to l>elieve, without evident, that the detective had started the «ju*rrell. Police were not popular officer*, perhaps: neither were they polieeni** for their own pleasure and comfort. They were there for public protection, and they themselves mush be protected, lie did' not believe that this assault was as big as indicated by the indict* nienr. The jury had been invited to disbelieve a man merely because hej was a policeman. Were he a clerk in Mr. Johnstone's oilice it would be a different matter. Concluding, his Honor reminded the jury of their duty to the public, remembering that the poli?e» were there "for your protection and for the protection of your wives and families." The jury retired at five o'clock and returned lialf an hour later with a verdict of guilty upon the charge of eonimon assault. lfis Honor said the law had been vindicated, but the jury evidently did uot wish to be harsh with the accused. He would pass a lenient sentence, but it must be taken as a precedent, for the police had to be protected. The accused was sentenced to three months' imprisonment with hard labor.