Knee in groin charge dropped

A police sergeant accused of injuring a prisoner so badly he had to have a testicle removed had the charge dropped shortly before giving evidence on other assault charges against him.

Martin James Folan entered the witness box at his trial in the Auckland District Court yesterday.

The former bricklayer from Glasgow has pleaded not guilty to six charges of assault relating to incidents with prisoners.

He also faced another charge of injuring with intent, relating to prisoner Joseph McGee, who had to have a testicle removed after allegedly being kneed in the groin.

But the charge was dropped yesterday by Judge Roderick Joyce, QC, who said he accepted there was no evidence to link the injury to Folan's knee.

In his evidence, Folan told the court he did "not recall touching" a handcuffed 16-year-old, Finn Campbell, who he is accused of elbowing in the face.

Folan said he was called to a street in Glen Eden where there had been reports of letterboxes being smashed.

He found Mr Campbell parked in a car with five friends, one of whom bolted from the vehicle as he pulled up.

Folan said Mr Campbell separated himself from the group.

"He was shouting, 'You can't do anything to me'. He turned to his friends and shouted to them, 'He can't do anything to us'."

Folan said he asked the teenager to stop shouting, then warned him that he was being obstructive and breaching the peace.

"He continued to shout. I said, 'Okay, you're under arrest'."

He handcuffed Mr Campbell and put him into the back of his patrol car as the 16-year-old continued to shout.

Folan said he put a seatbelt on Mr Campbell.

Last week, Mr Campbell told the court that as the seatbelt was being put on him, he asked Folan, "Why do you have to be a dick about this?".

He said Folan elbowed him in the face and said, "Don't call me a dick"

Yesterday, Folan said Mr Campbell was giving him a verbal tirade, but he did not recall touching him at all.

Earlier in the day, Sergeant Wendy Pickering said she was shocked by a conversation with Folan at the staff Christmas party.

"He said to me he had been angry with a prisoner and in the processing bay they wound each other up and that he went around to the counter and choked him with both hands."

She said Folan also told her of a separate incident involving another prisoner in which he had "smashed his head on a concrete floor".

Defence lawyer Richard Earwaker said Folan would deny saying that.