A man who hit a police officer on the head with a metal torch during an arrest, sending the senior constable to hospital, will learn his fate in May.
David Riordan will be sentenced for a raft of charges in Newcastle District Court, related to the incident that left Senior Constable Kane Goodchild injured last year.
Among the nine charges, Riordan will be sentenced for one count each of wounding a police officer in the execution of their duty while being reckless as to actual bodily harm, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, police pursuit and driving with a cancelled licence.
The matter was mentioned in Newcastle District Court on Thursday morning.
Riordan was arrested on the afternoon of April 24 last year, after he was involved in a police pursuit in the Port Stephens region.
Police engaged the vehicle that Riordan was driving in a chase along Richardson Road at Campvale about 5pm, but the pursuit was called off soon after it began, for safety reasons.
Officers then found the Waratah man at Finnan Park, south-east of the Raymond Terrace CBD.
During a struggle that ensued when police attempted to arrest Riordan, Senior Constable Kane Goodchild was struck on the head with a metal torch - knocking him unconscious.
It was an injury that required stitches at John Hunter Hospital and was an act that drew condemnation from the Police Association of NSW.
The Newcastle Herald reported at the time that, as well as being a police officer, Senior Constable Goodchild was also a well-known local soccer player and had made a name for himself as a prolific goal scorer in the Northern NSW National Premier League competition.
Magistrate Robert Stone sent the charges from the Local Court to the District Court on January 15 for sentencing.
On Thursday, District Court Judge Roy Ellis said Riordan would be sentenced on May 22.
Judge Ellis has set aside 60 minutes for the sentencing to take place.
Riordan, who did not personally appear when the matter was mentioned on Thursday, was again formally refused bail and remanded in custody.
