A South Australian police officer has repeatedly denied that he became increasing annoyed and frustrated when dealing with a young intoxicated woman in Mount Gambier and that that led to him allegedly assaulting her three times.
Constable Bradley Moyle, 36, is facing three counts of aggravated assault against Kiara Beck, now 21, related to the incident in Mount Gambier on the night of August 22, 2021.
It is alleged Constable Moyle shoved Ms Beck into the back seat of a taxi and then hit her twice with his hand while he was arresting her.
On Thursday the Mount Gambier Magistrates Court heard Ms Beck kicked Constable Moyle earlier in the night outside the Commercial Hotel.
The court heard that Constable Moyle was not injured by the kick.
Ms Beck was then taken to Mount Gambier hospital in an ambulance, the court was told, because of what the police officer described as her "grossly intoxicated" state, as well as for a mental health check.
The court heard Ms Beck left the hospital and police officers found her drunk in the car park of Macs Hotel, where she had been refused entry.
They told her to go home but she refused and said she was looking for her mobile phone and her boyfriend.
Police body-worn camera footage played to the court showed Constable Moyle calling her a "deadset idiot" and asking: "What is wrong with you?"
The footage showed another police officer could be seen in the video walking later walked her across to a taxi rank and Constable Moyle then joined her.
Constable Moyle could be seen in the footage shown to the court yelling at Ms Beck and pushing her into the taxi.
"Go home or I'm going to arrest you for disorderly conduct," he told her.
'Distraction strikes'
The court also heard – but did not see footage of – Constable Moyle giving what he called two "distraction strikes" as Ms Beck grabbed hold of his collar so he could divert her attention and flip her from her back to her stomach and arrest her.
Prosecutor Patrick Mulvihill suggested Constable Moyle lost control of his emotions, which led to him pushing and hitting Ms Beck, but Constable Moyle denied that multiple times.
"I suggest that's where your annoyance and frustration got the best of you," Mr Mulvihill put to Constable Moyle.
"I disagree," Constable Moyle said.
Constable Moyle agreed that he was much bigger than Ms Beck – who was 150 centimetres tall and weighed 50 kilograms – and that she never had a chance of overpowering him.
He told the court that while she was on her back there was a chance she could spit on him, gouge at his eyes or scratch him.
Constable Moyle told the court police were not able to give Ms Beck a ride home because they had been instructed by management not to carry a person in the back of a sedan due to the risk of COVID-19 infections.
The defence put to the court that Constable Moyle had been following police training about escalation of force and that getting Ms Beck on her stomach to arrest her was much safer.
An application by the defence for the trial be aborted because there was no case to answer was refused.
Magistrate Koula Kossiavelos also refused applications from the media for the police videos because they had not yet been shown during Constable Moyle's evidence.
Constable Moyle has been suspended with pay since last June.
The trial will continue later this month.
