Constable admits hitting handcuffed man in car

A South Auckland constable plans to tell a jury he was acting as a responsible police officer when he backhanded a handcuffed drunk man in the back of a patrol car several times.

Alexander Grant is charged with injuring Hemi Koia with intent to injure while transporting him in the back of a police car in July 2003.

The constable, who has been stood down, is alleged to have hit Mr Koia up to 20 times, knocking him out and leaving his nose bleeding.

While the defence is yet to open its case, lawyer Peter Boylan yesterday indicated what was to come by telling the jury: "Mr Grant will tell you that he did not intend to injure Mr Koia in the police car that morning and that he did not injure him.

"He will tell you he was acting as a responsible police officer at the time, under very difficult circumstances."

Grant's trial started in the Manukau District Court yesterday with Mr Koia saying he had drunk 12 to 20 beers when police arrived at his home in the early hours after a call about a fight at his party.

Mr Koia, who was then 24, said he wanted to go to bed but the police wanted to look inside. He was aggressive, swore at the officers and locked them out but they smashed a glass panel in the front door to get in.

Mr Koia was pepper-sprayed and put into the back seat of a patrol car with his hands cuffed behind his back.

As the car reversed down the drive, Mr Koia said Grant, who was sitting to the left of him in the back, hit him in the face.

"He gave me a backhand to the face and said, 'Get smart now, you little shit'."

Mr Koia said he "might have got a bit lippy" before blacking out. He recalled trying to spit out blood at one stage and being dragged along the concrete into the Papakura police station.

Asked how many times he was hit before blacking out, Mr Koia said once or twice but he never made a complaint because he had "other problems at the time".

The allegations came to light in 2005.

Mr Boylan asked Mr Koia if, thinking back on it now, he deserved being backhanded by the officer sitting to his left.

Mr Koia replied: "Under the circumstances, no."

Judge Simon Lockhart, QC, then asked Mr Boylan if the defence was accepting the allegation that Grant hit Mr Koia and Mr Boylan replied: "Yes, we are, sir."

Constable Wayne Mead, one of the first officers to arrive at Mr Koia's house that night, told the court he found him to be "very angry, stroppy and yelling abusive words".

He said police had decided to leave because they were aggravating the situation but Mr Koia kept "nutting off" and swearing.

"That's when Constable Alex Grant then said, 'I'm not putting up with that - he's coming with us'."

Mr Mead said Grant hit Mr Koia between 15 and 20 times in the face, head and upper body while making comments like " ... how do you feel now that you're not f...... in control" and "don't call me pigshit".

At one stage Mr Koia lost consciousness. He heard Grant say, "Shit, I think we better call an ambulance" but he then managed to wake Mr Koia by gently slapping him on the face.

Mr Mead, then a very junior officer, said he was shocked and distressed by what happened in the car and at one stage feared Mr Koia was dead.

"I was totally against what Mr Grant was doing to Mr Koia. It was disgusting."

The trial continues today.