A senior police officer spat in the face of the rule of law when he threatened to "pummel" a Canberra woman and answered her request for a lawyer by telling her she would need plastic surgery.
That is what lawyer Taden Kelliher said after the Galambany Circle Sentencing Court spared his client, Rosemary May Rix, a conviction for common assault last Friday.
Rix pleaded guilty to the assault after spitting on a guard at Canberra's jail in response to being, as she put it, "gassed in a confined space" with a fire extinguisher last September.
Court documents show the guard sprayed the extinguisher into Rix's cell, which was filled with hazardous gas, after the Belconnen woman set fire to some paper towel.
Rix, 24, told the court on Friday she had just "wanted out" of the cell, having been isolating in there for about two weeks after a positive COVID-19 test.
In what special magistrate Anthony Hopkins described as a powerful letter of apology, Rix explained that she had reacted badly as a result of her history of negative interactions with figures of authority.
To illustrate that history, Mr Kelliher tendered to the court a video that showed Rix being threatened by an ACT Policing officer during an arrest in December 2020.
"I'll drag you in the f---ing bushes and pummel your f---ing head in," the officer told Rix in the footage.
When Rix politely asked the officer to call her lawyer, the officer replied: "Call your lawyer? F---ing need a f---ing plastic surgery."
Dr Hopkins said the officer's threats, described by Rix as "a PG version" of her experiences with police, amounted to a breach of the 24-year-old's human rights.
The magistrate also said bad interactions with figures of authority were, unfortunately, "not an uncommon experience for First Nations mob".
He told Rix assaults were always serious matters, making no criticism of the prison guard's actions and noting the victim had been concerned about limiting the spread of COVID-19 behind bars.
But Dr Hopkins acknowledged Rix had been "in a powerful cocktail", having started the fire as "a cry for help" while isolated and fearing for her health.
The magistrate also noted that Rix had almost immediately expressed remorse for spitting at the guard.
He ultimately acted on the "strong recommendation" of an Indigenous elder, who thought "a chance may make all the difference" for Rix's future, and dismissed the charge without conviction.
"You're a survivor, Rosie," Dr Hopkins told Rix, who is no longer behind bars and plans to move to Queensland.
Following the sentencing, Mr Kelliher told The Canberra Times he was "disgusted" by the conduct of the officer who had threatened Rix.
"His behaviour was disgraceful and reprehensible," he said.
Mr Kelliher also blasted the officer's response to Rix's request for her lawyer.
"The senior officer's refusal to call Ms Rix's lawyer, instead telling her that she wouldn't need one but would need a plastic surgeon, spits in the face of the rule of law," he said.
ACT Policing has previously told The Canberra Times the officer in question had been disciplined following a professional standards investigation, but it did not provide details of the sanctions imposed.
Mr Kelliher called on police to reveal more, saying Rix and the public had a right to know the officer had been "appropriately punished for his deplorable conduct".
He also expressed hope that an independent body, "completely separate from the [Australian Federal Police]", would one day be established to investigate complaints made about members of ACT Policing.
