SUPREME COURT.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 August 1918, Page 6

SUPREME COURT.

ASSAULT ON-A CONSTABLE. CHARGE AGAINST A SOLDIER,

In the Supreme Court yesterday, before his Honor the Chief Justice, Sir Robert Stout, George Fitzgerald, a youthful prisoner wearing the' King's uniform, was charged on four counts with assaulting Constable John Willetts, police constable stationed at Hawera, on the evening of July 1C) last, while in the execution of his duty, lie was also further charged with using indecent language in a public place, with intent to commit a breach of the peace.

Mr. H. R. Billing represented the Crown, and Air. P. O'Dea (Hawera) appeared foi> accused, who pleaded not guilty.

The following jurv was empanelled: Messrs C W. Maddock, F. E. Morris, W. X. Ackland, A. R. Clow, M. E. Clow, T. J. O'Kelly, A. H. Maxwell, F. A. Coleman, Win. Revell, W. Ambury, G. W. King, and H. Huthnancc. Mr. Ambury was chosen foreman.

All witnesses were ordered out of court.

John Willetts, police constable, stationed at Hawera, said he was on duty in High Street on the evening of July I<3 He saw accused at aibout 10 p.m. eomimr towards him. in company with Don Anderson, Goddard, and another man. Accused, he believed, was connected with some stables or with training racehorses. So were some of his companions. When near witness, accused called out "Here's Jock," and on getting nearer he said, "Hullo. Jock; how the ; h are you "By Hint time the young men had passed witness, who told them that was not the way to speak to a constable on the street. Accused enme hack and put his face dose to that of witness and said he would speak how and when he liked, and used the indecent words complained of. He smelt very strongly of drink. Witnss then said he would arrest accused for using indecent language. Accused then said he would fight witness, and proceeded to take off his ooat. Witness stopped him (by catching hold of him to effect arrest. A struggle then ensued, and witness d?cided that he would put the handcuffs on accused- Witness was wearing the ordinary regulation mackintosh over his uniform. He took the handcuffs from his overaoa-t pocket. Accused snatched the handcuffs and threw them along the street Just then a man named Englefield came up and witness got him to assist, as he thought by that means they would get accused to the police station without hurting him. He asked Mr. Englcfield to get the handcuffs, which he did, and they were put on. 'in the meantime witness held accused down. While he did so accused struck him in the face several times, and witness squeezed his windpipe until he became quiet. After handcuffing Accused he went along quietly for a little while. when accused began to struggle violently again and the two men fell to the ground, the constaible being on top. Witness had a grip of the connecting chain of the handcuffs. For a little while accused lay still, and witness bent over him to lift him on to his feet. While doing so, accused lifted one of his feet and the boot struck witness just over the eye. making a nasty wound, which dazed witness- Accused got to his feel and managed to slip his right hand out of the handcuffs. Witness then caught hold of accused by the coat, but he slipped out of it and ran away up the street. Witness was not able to follow accused, and turned to go to the police station, taking accused's coat with him. A coat was produced in court, lint witness could not actually identify il. He made no mark on the coat. It was like the one accused was wearing Continuing, witness said he had got someone to ring up the* police station for assistance- On the way back he met Senior-Sergeant Till and told him what had happened and gave him accused's ccat He went to the doctor, who put half-a-dozen stitches in the wound on his face. He was incapacitated from duty for 19 days. He had never given act-used any cause for assaulting him. To Mr. O'Dea: He hod known accused by name for about IS months. lie had repeatedly had occasion to complain lo accused of his behaviour. He had also spoken to the gang with which accused appelated, about a dozen times, as to their behaviour. He had never put in a report about them. He denied being in the habit of offering to fight people in Hr.wera. He had never had "fisticuffs" with either Sergeant-Major Reynolds or a man named Walker. He very nearly came to blows with Reynolds He explained an occurrence one night when he was going home in plain clothes in which he had lost his temper with Reynolds on account of something he had said. He would not swear that he did not strike Reynolds, though he did not think he struck him.

Mr. O'Dea: What were yon before you were a constable —Witness: I don't think you should ask that question. Witness appealed to the judge, who said he wa3 not obliged to answer the questien. Mr. O'Dea: Were you employed on the Wellington tramways?— Witness: I refuse to answer-

Wore you dismissed from the Wellington tramways for dropping a crayfish in a lady's lap instead of giving her the eha:ige for her fare? —You have got it wrong, and I'm not going to enlighten you.

His Honor interposed that all this seemed irrelevant, to which Mr. O'Dea replied that it was to show the unsuitab'litv of witness for his work. His Honor ruled the matter irrelevant, and it was not therefore further pursued.

Continuing, witness said he had not been drinking that day. He was a very moderate drinker. He denied ever drinking in a public bar in uniform. If accused said witness smelt of drink he would deny it- Tie said accused used a lor of liad language during the struggle. .Accused never asked why he was being arrested. Mr. Kngloficld should liave heard the language used by accusedJohn Stewart Englcfield, milking machine agent, TTawera. said he was coming along High Street on the evening of 'lie assault and saw two men •strusrQling on the ground. On" was n constable, who asked witness to assist him. His evidence thereafter was a corroboration of that of the nonstable, except that he said be hearA no bad V^cuage. T)r. Sloan. TTawera. sai'.J*onst.able Willetts come to liis surge**" fine evening in •Tiilt. He wps norfecti'; - yobcr hut verv shaky. He had a se/'tws wound over one ere. and witaesv" And to put in si* stitehpo- I*-re were also some minor wounds on the face- The wound

over the eye might have been caused by the toe of a boot.

Senior-Sergeant Till gave evidence as to the condition of Constable Willetts when he met him in the street shortly after the assault. He said he bore signs of having received a serious blow over the eye. He was perfectly sober. In reply to Mr. O'Dea, he said he had put Willetts on to regulate the street traffic. He had not had to take him off that duty, but a complaint had been received about him from the Mayor (Mr. Dixon).

Detective-Sergeant Hoi I is, Wanganul, gave evidence as to arresting accused at Arivmoho on the morning after the assault. Accused was in charge of the military authorities and was on his way to camp. He made a statement in reply to a question about a pair of handcuffs, to the effect that he had got them in a scuffle with, a policeman the previous evening, who was trying to arrest him for nothing- He admitted having kicked the constable. Tn Mr O'Dea: Accused mentioned that the constable had knelt on his chest and i-aught him by the throat. He was perfectly frank in lus statement.

CASE FOR THE DEFENCE. Accused in giving evidence said he was a private in the 44th Reinforcements. He was 22 years of age. He had been employed by Mr- Barraclough, i trotting horse trainer, for about t% years. Prior to that he had been a taxidriver in Auckland. He liad also been on some boats. Previous to the assault he had had words with Constable Willetts outside a lish shop. Some fellows tvho had been having a spree after a football match were making a bit of a noise at a fish shop. Accused, who was in front of the shop, went inside to get Borne cigarettes, and when he came out again Constable Willetts came up and accused witness of going in to tell the other fellows that he was coining. He denied it and raid they were fellows with, whom he did not associate. That happened about 12 months ago. He had not seen Willetts to speak to since that night. All he said when ho passed Willetts on the night of the assault was: "Good-night. Jock," and Willetts replied, "Good-night." The Judge: Why did you call him Jock? Don't you think it very impudent? That's net his name. Witness: Everybody who knows him and drinks with him calls him Jock, and he doesn't seem to mind it. Continuing, witness said Wiletfs called him back and said he had no right to speak to him like that. He then said he had been looking for accused. The constable proceeded to -arrest him, and when he asked why he was being arrested he got no reply. He resisted arrest, and when the constable produced the handcuffs he asked him what he was going to do with' them. Witness snatched at them and they fell on the road- Willetts then threw him on the ground, put his knee on his chest, and caught hold of his tiiroat and nearly choked him. IHis head was also bumped on the asphalt path 'several tinier Kngletield then came on the scene and assisted to handcuff witness. When he got up the constable had hold of the chains of the handcuffs and held witness' hands down between his legs from behind. They went a little

way along, and then he fell on the ground again and a further struggle ensued, in the course of which he heard Willetts say: "My eye's gone." He would not swear that he did not kick the constable, but he had not kicked him deliberately. He got away from the constable and went along the street and subsequently home. The next morning he 'eft Hawera with the reinforcement draft for camp. He had never been before the court; 'before on any charge whatever. His discharges from ships (why-h were produced) were all marked "virv good."

To Mr. billing: Ho did not display the handcuffs at the railway station in the morning when he was going away, or brag about the previous night's affair. He told one of the other men who was going to camp that he had the handcuffs. After the assault he went into a billiard saloon and said Willetts had tried to arrest him for nothing. He asked them if they had a coat they could let him have. He could not get the handcuffs off. He did not say what had happened, or what he had done to Constable Willetts. He denied that lie was having an "evening onl" prior to going to camp. The only drink he had was one with Anderson and (Joddard in the Egmont Hotel at a quarter past five. They spent the evening till half-past eight in the billiard saloon. He denied using the words to Constable Willetts that he complained of. He said to Engleficld that the constable was arresting him for nothing. The constable did say to him to go quietly. He did not go at first because the constable would not say why he was urresting him. He said afterwards that if the handcuffs were taken off he would go quietly. On the night of the assault he met Willetts at about half-past nine, under the verandah of a fish shop in High Street. Witness suid, "Good night, Jock," to which Willetts replied and passed on. He then called accused back and said, "Look here, you've no right to talk to me like that." Accused replied: "Why, what's the matter." The constable then "got on to him" about the lisli-shop all'air, and said he hiid been looking for witness. Willetts said something about wanting to get witness by himself. The constable then caught hold of witness by the coat, and said he would arrest him. Witness asked what for, but the constable made no reply. He unbuttoned his overcoat and broi'ght out a pair of handcuff's, and tried to handcuff witness. AVitncss repeated his account of the struggle, and also his version of the subsequent events. He would have returned the handcuffs to the police the same night, only a man he met told him not to go over there or "he'd give you a hiding." lie asked his employer to take ihem back, hut he declined. The sergeant-major at the station in the morning offered to return them to (he police, but ac-used said he did not care to let him have them, as ihey might go astray, and he supposed he was responsible tor them.

To Mr. O'Dea: He was afraid 1;. go back to the police. 11. X. Francis, hairdresser. TTawera, said he saw two men standing near together on the evening of the assault in High Street. The bigger man caught hold of the smaller man. and threw him down, putting his knee on his chest and catching hold of his throat. The constable asked the other man if he had had enough. He humped accused's head on the ground twice. Mr. Knglelield then came up. and the constable asked him to get the handcuffs, which were lying on the roadway. The handcuffs were then put on, and accused was lifted up, the constable holding his hand down between his legs from behind They went a few paces, and the accused then turned a somersault, and Willetts complained that his eyes had been kicked. Witness could not say u accused had kicked Willletts. Thev were struggling together

generally in the dark part of the footpath just near Hallenstein's shop. To Mr. Billing: It was about thirty or forty yards from the corner round which he came to the lish shop. Englefield was between witness and the two men. The only things he heard said were by Fitzgerald, who laid, "Look what he's doing" and "take the handcuffs off; I'll go quietly." Victor Scott, jockey, one of those who were with accused on the night of the assault, corroborated accused's evidence.

THE VERDICT. The jury, after a retirement of four hours, returned a verdict of guilty on two counts in connection with the assault, namely, that he did cause actual bodily harm to Constable Willetts, and that he committed an aggravated assault un the constable. On the other two counts he was not guilty. On the charge of using indecent language the jury failed lo agree. They strongly recommended the prisoner to the clemency of the court, on account of the fact that he was now serving his country. His Honor intimated that he would keep the jury's recommendation in mind. He thought the man was not of the criminal class, and that probably drink had something to do with his behaviour. He would give these mattei'B consideration in determining the sentence, which would be deferred until Friday morning.