A former Rotorua police officer says he saw his colleague hitting a man with a torch and putting his face on the ground.
The complainant was left with a fractured eye socket and a cut to his head.
Rotorua police officer Constable David Mear, 44, is on trial in the Rotorua District Court after pleading not guilty to wounding a man with intent to injure and assaulting the man with a police torch.
The jury heard that about 3am on August 28, 2010, Harley Collier was stopped by police after a pursuit which reached speeds of 130km/h.
In his evidence Constable Brian Newcombe, now stationed in Picton, said he got on to the bonnet of Mr Collier's car and used his baton to smash a hole in the windscreen. Constable Newcombe said he was trying to prevent Mr Collier getting away.
After getting down from the car Constable Newcombe said he saw Mear strike Mr Collier on the back of the head with a police issue torch three times. He said he saw Mear pick up Mr Collier's head and push it down onto the road and yelled to his fellow office; ``that's enough''.
Questioned about the level of force used by Mear, Constable Newcombe said on a scale of one to 10, it was seven to eight.
Three days after the incident Constable Newcombe told Sergeant Nicola Riordan about what he saw.
``I felt that the force was excessive and it didn't sit right with me,'' he said.
While being cross-examined by Mear's lawyer, Paul Mabey QC, Constable Newcombe was asked why he had not written what he saw Mear do in his job sheet after the incident.
The constable said he was still seeking legal advice as it was an employment investigation.
Constable Newcombe denied lying about what he saw.
``I have no reason to lie. I've told the truth . . . I'm not there to protect anyone.''
In his opening address for the Crown, solicitor Greg Hollister-Jones described the force used by Mear as ``unnecessary, gratuitous and illegal''.
He said Mr Collier suffered a 5cm cut to the top of his head and a fractured eye socket which required surgery at Waikato Hospital.
When interviewed, Mear denied striking Mr Collier or seeing any other police officers do so.
Mr Hollister Jones said the case rested or fell on the evidence of Mr Newcombe and the supporting medical evidence of the injuries suffered by Mr Collier.
In a brief opening statement, Mr Mabey said Mear ``completely and utterly'' denied the assaults and said Constable Newcombe was a ``complete liar''.
Mear had done nothing but act properly as a police officer, his counsel said.
In his evidence Mr Collier talked of ``cops jumping over my car whacking my window and my front [wind]screen''.
Mr Collier said he was kicked in the head and body but didn't know how many times or by whom.
``It felt like heaps . . . They were pretty hard,''
He said at one stage it felt like a baton or torch ``whacked my head''.
``It did not feel like a boot, felt smaller than a boot, rounder object.''
He said he was hit with the object three or four times.
Mr Collier said he had been dealt with by the courts on charges of drink driving, dangerous driving, failing to stop and driving while forbidden in relation to the incident.
Other police involved in the arrest of Mr Collier, Constables Phillip Edwards, Francis Martin and Stuart Burgess, have given evidence.
Constable Edwards said he kicked Mr Collier in the stomach but denied kicking him in the head when that was put to him by Mr Mabey.
In his evidence Constable Edwards admitted he had previously been spoken to by senior officers after kicking a person in the head in relation to another incident.
Officer on trial for alleged beating
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