Constables lose assault convictions appeal

File Photo / Greg Bowker

The convictions of two Dunedin police officers of assaulting a motorcyclist will stand, after the Court of Appeal dismissed their bid to have them overturned.

Constables Brenton David Rooney and Duncan Roy Hollebon, both aged in their 30s, were found guilty after a jury trial in Dunedin District Court last June.

Rooney, who had denied assault with intent to injure Daniel Murray Wiel, was sentenced to two months' community detention and 100 hours' community work.

Hollebon, who denied assault with intent to injure, was sentenced to 160 hours' community work.

Each was ordered to pay Mr Wiel $500 reparation.

The Court of Appeal was told police had pursued Mr Wiel early on February 15, 2009, after he was seen riding a motorcycle around Dunedin city streets without lights and without a helmet.

Rooney was the acting sergeant and Hollebon was on patrol when they arrived to see the two less experienced officers struggling with Mr Wiel on the ground.

His hands were under his body as he resisted being handcuffed.

Evidence was given at trial by two junior officers that Hollebon went over and kicked Mr Wiel in the rib and shoulder area. The officers said he walked away before returning to kick Mr Wiel again.

They said Rooney arrived and kicked Mr Wiel in the head.

Mr Wiel's injuries were not serious but included grazing and bruising to the right eye and right side of his face, light bruising to the left side of his chest and abdomen and abrasions to his right elbow.

Rooney's defence was that as he approached, he slipped and his foot may have made light accidental contact with Mr Wiel's head. Hollebon admitted kneeling on Mr Wiel and placing his foot on Mr Wiel's shoulder but denied kicking him.

Lawyers for the two accused told the Court of Appeal that the jury's verdicts were "unreasonable" and that the serious charges were not borne out by what were minor injuries.

They questioned any intent to injure, saying the actual injuries did not match the allegations of considerable force.

Both lawyers also submitted that jurors should have been cautioned by the trial judge that the prosecution evidence from two other police constables was unreliable.

In their decision today, Justices Ellen France, Judith Potter and Forrest Miller said the verdicts were "not unreasonable" and the trial judge had acted correctly.

While Rooney and Hollebon had asked that the court take into account a police disciplinary report, which cleared them against allegations of misconduct, the justices said it was not fresh evidence and could not be admitted.

- NZPA