Two NSW police officers punched and kicked schizophrenic woman ‘out of frustration'

The Guardian

2 days ago

Two former police officers punched, kicked and pepper-sprayed a naked schizophrenic woman were not 'bad men' but were acting out of frustration, a judge has heard.
Nathan Black, 28, and Timothy John Trautsch, 30, were conducting a welfare check on a naked 48-year-old woman in an industrial cul-de-sac in western Sydney on 22 January 2023.
They have pleaded guilty to assault and the unlawful use of their pepper spray after bodyworn video and CCTV captured them punching, kicking and spraying the woman in the face and on wounds on her back.
On Tuesday, their barrister, Chris Micali, admitted at Penrith district court that the attack had gone further than necessary.
However, he denied allegations by crown prosecutor, Nicholas Marney, that the duo were motivated by gratuitous cruelty.
'It's born out of a frustration and a lack of success,' Micali said.
The woman had been lashing out at the police officers and being verbally aggressive.
Black and Trautsch had been 'hyper-focused' on getting her into the waiting ambulance and made a grave misjudgment, Micali told Judge Graham Turnbull.
'I don't say these are bad men. What I'm saying is these are men who've done a bad thing,' the barrister said.
The judge noted that their conduct had actually inflamed the woman, making her more agitated.
'Why didn't they just give up and let her calm down for a moment?' the judge asked.
'That's what they should have done,' Mr Micali answered.
The defence barrister also denied claims that the woman did not pose a threat to the two police officers.
In footage shown to the court, she grabbed the handcuffs leading to Black dragging her along the road by her hair.
He did this to try get the handcuffs out of her grasp, Micali said.
Black was later diagnosed with a liver condition after being defecated on by the woman while Trautsch had his finger bitten during the incident, the court heard.
Earlier on Tuesday, Marney said spraying the woman's open wounds with pepper spray was 'gratuitously cruel'.
Some of the spray also got onto her vagina, the court heard.
The victim was 'dehumanised' in the attack and should have been shown common decency and compassion, Marney said.
The pair knew what they were doing was wrong with Trautsch saying at one point there could be cameras nearby, Marney said.
The woman was also charged with assault after the incident.
These charges were dropped when Black's bodyworn footage was viewed by other police officers.
Black pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm, using a prohibited weapon without a permit and three counts of common assault.
He also admitted intentionally publishing protected information after sending snippets of the body-worn footage to another police officer.
Trautsch pleaded guilty to one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, three counts of common assault and one count of using a prohibited weapon without a permit.
The sentence hearing continues on Wednesday.