Two police officers who escaped conviction after being found guilty of assaulting a Melbourne pensioner are appealing the findings against them.
Senior Constables Brad McLeod and Florian Hilgart were fined and ordered to be of good behaviour for 12 months over the unlawful assault of a man they were arresting in September 2018.
The men, and Constable John Edney who was also found guilty but is not appealing, were called to the Preston pensioner's home by his psychologist over concerns about his mental health.
A magistrate found in July that the man had been "aggressive and volatile" at the front door, but officers used unjustified force in response.
McLeod, 35, pepper-sprayed the pensioner and punched him in the stomach.
Hilgart, 42, sprayed the pensioner with a high-pressure hose at the direction of McLeod, who grinned and filmed it on his phone.
McLeod was fined $3500 while Hilgart was fined $1000.
In a hearing in the County Court on Thursday, it was revealed the appeal won't go ahead until February next year because of delays in getting transcripts of the July hearing.
The appeal is set to take five days plus a full day of legal arguments.
Rahmin de Krester, representing McLeod, said witnesses are set to include his client and the pensioner.
Credibility is in issue for both of them, he said.
