Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Police officer points his gun at a man suspected of drink driving - before kicking him in the back and handcuffing him


   
Footage has emerged showing the moment a police officer drew his gun on a man he had pulled over on suspicion of drink driving.

Tendered to the ACT Magistrate's Court on Friday, the video was filmed on a NSW Police officer's dashboard camera on January 22, 2015 outside Canberra.

The footage shows the officer running to the door of the man's car with his gun pointed at the driver, before flinging the door open as the man emerges with his hands up.

The highway patrol officer had been carrying out roadside breath tests on Canberra Avenue in Queanbeyan last January when the motorist slowed down when he saw the set up, Fairfax reported.

The policeman then followed the driver before pulling him over on Stephen's Road nearby. He got out of his car and flung the motorist's door open, gun drawn.

With his firearm pointed at the man's head, the police officer then appears to tell the driver to get down onto the ground and put his hands behind his back, and the man complies.

The officer then holstered his gun and kicked him in the back while he handcuffed the man, who according to the senior constable later returned a positive blood-alcohol reading.

The actions of the highway patrol officer were heavily criticised by a magistrate on Friday who said she was 'appalled' by the policeman's response.

Special Magistrate Margaret Hunter said it had been 'clearly unnecessary' for the officer to draw his gun and point it at the man's face.

However the senior constable involved told the court he was concerned about his own safety, to which the magistrate responded that he could have waited for backup.

The man's drink driving offence was successfully overturned on Friday after it was revealed the device used to carry out the test was not an approved breathalyser.

'NSW Police are aware of the courts decision and are reviewing the outcome,' a spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia.

<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3683675/Moment-police-officer-points-gun-man-suspected-drink-driving-kicking-handcuffing-him.html">SOURCE</a>


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