The police officer in charge on the night rugby league stars and cousins Jack Wighton and Latrell Mitchell were arrested outside a Canberra nightclub has admitted he gave false evidence in court.
Mr Wighton and Mr Mitchell are appearing before the ACT Magistrates court over incidents that allegedly took place in and outside Fiction nightclub in February this year while celebrating Mr Wighton’s 30th birthday.
Mr Wighton, who at the time played for the Canberra Raiders, was issued an exclusion notice – that he was later charged with contravening – because he had “pushed and shoved” a man inside, and showed “aggressive” behaviour, namely clenched fists and an “angry expression”, the court was told on Monday.
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In bombshell evidence on the second day of the pair’s hearing before the ACT Magistrates Court, Sergeant David Power told the court allegations he’d made about why he’d kicked Mr Wighton out of the club weren’t accurate.
So explosive was the Sergeant Power’s testimony it prompted magistrate Jane Campbell to ask prosecutor Sam Bargwanna if he wished to continue trying the case. He proceeded to call up a second witness.
Mr Wighton’s lawyer Steve Boland had pieced together a timeline of events via CCTV footage, prompting Sergeant Power to admit he had given false evidence to the court about what had prompted the exclusion direction and later apologised to Mr Wighton.
Minutes after Mr Wighton was issued the notice, he and Mr Mitchell, of South Sydney Rabbitohs, are accused of fighting in a public place.
Mr Mitchell was also charged with affray and obstructing police, with friends capturing his arrest claiming officers engaged in “police brutality” while attempting to cuff him.
Sergeant Power had told the court on Monday Mr Wighton had an “angry expression” on his face and had “clenched fists” inside the club which had prompted him to expel the Raiders player from the premises.
Under questioning from Mr Wighton’s lawyer Steve Boland on Tuesday, Sergeant Power was played CCTV and body-camera footage from the time of the alleged incident inside the club.
No incident involving Mr Wighton could be seen in the footage, and Sergeant Power admitted: “What I saw didn’t line up with the footage” and conceded he had a “memory issue”.
“What I saw appears to have not happened, and my memory has failed me,” he said.
Mr Bowland accused Sergeant Power of trying to “frame” his client by “inventing” evidence.
“It wasn’t a lie. It’s what I believed happened,” Sergeant Power said and denied misleading the court.
The sergeant later apologised to Mr Wighton in front of the court.
“Sorry Jack, if that’s what happened. I thought I saw something different,” he said to Mr Wighton.
Under further questioning, Mr Bowland asked if it was a “fact you’ve given false evidence”, to which Sergeant Power said it “appeared as so”.
As the group left the club and walked away, police allege Mr Wighton and Mr Mitchell got into a fight.
The pair’s lawyers told the court on the first day of the hearing that the scuffle did not constitute a fight because there was “no punch thrown and no one was taken to the ground”.
On the second day of the hearing, body-worn camera footage played to the court shows police running towards a group of people, including Mr Mitchell and Mr Wighton, and separating them.
Mr Wighton was taken away and arrested for contravening the exclusion order, while other officers dealt with Mr Mitchell.
In footage played to the court, Mr Mitchell – who police confirmed had compliantly gotten to his knees – was face down on the ground and could be heard crying out in pain and begging police to “be careful” as officers pinned him to the ground.
A day earlier, the court had been told that officers used elbows, knees, a spray can, and a baton to ensure they could cuff Mr Mitchell.
In court on Tuesday, footage shows police shouting at Mr Mitchell to “stop resisting” and give them his other arm so he can be cuffed.
His friends, including other rugby league players, watched on as Mr Mitchell pleaded and cried in pain, asking police to “de-escalate” the situation and “let him go”.
The court heard one female friend, who had been filming the incident, tell police they were engaging in “police brutality” as they arrested the Rabbitohs star.
She also suggested police were “racist” in their conduct against the Indigenous All Star.
First Constable Jack Bigmore, appearing on Tuesday afternoon, said he had tried to calm Mr Mitchell down, but was conscious he’d just seen Mr Mitchell “assault three people” in quick succession.
Sergeant Power, giving evidence, said he didn’t recall seeing officers under his supervision use force, but after being played video footage, he said the force used on Mr Mitchell was justified.
Mr Boland also told the court there was “poison at the root of the case” after it was revealed the group of officers involved in the incident had a roundtable at the end of the night before they submitted their reports in what he asserted was them trying to get their story straight.
Sergeant Power conceded that with hindsight, that was not best practice.
The hearing continues.
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