There was “strong evidence” New South Wales police deleted photos from the phone of a woman who said the images depicted an officer who had just groped her breasts, a court has found.
Simone White was part of protests against a Reclaim Australia rally in Sydney in July 2015.
The 41-year-old told Sydney’s Downing Centre local court that an unidentified officer had twice grabbed her breasts as demonstrators jostled against a police line.
Video footage tendered in court showed White turning and taking photographs of the officer she believed to be responsible.
Shortly afterwards she was arrested by senior constable John Wasko, who said White had attempted to elbow him in the scrum. She was charged with assault.
In the course of being searched by a female officer, White produced a bank card to verify her identity.
She was taken to a mobile police station where the same female officer took possession of her phone, which police say was required to establish White’s identity.
White told the court she asked the officer, while being recorded, not to delete any photographs. But when she received her phone after being released the photos of the officer had been deleted.
A subpoena for the footage from inside the mobile station was ignored by police. In court, Wasko said he had been told the camera was faulty that day.
White also told the court Wasko had gripped her around the neck, causing slight injury.
The prosecution failed to produce video evidence of White’s alleged assault on Wasko, despite the presence of police camera operators.
In response to a subpoena, police eventually produced video footage that showed Wasko pushing White in the back, and then her being pulled to the ground and arrested, but no evidence she had tried to elbow Wasko.
Magistrate Geoffrey Bradd on Tuesday dismissed the charges against White and awarded her $13,400 in costs owing to the “exceptional circumstances”. He said Wasko had been acting beyond his duty in pushing the woman and that there was medical evidence to support her allegation of having her neck squeezed by the officer.
He said the officer had investigated the case “in an unreasonable and improper manner” and had failed to make sufficient effort to find video evidence.
Wasko, who is based on Sydney’s northern beaches, told the court he was unfamiliar with the CBD and did not believe there were CCTV cameras in the area.
“The evidence strongly indicates that Ms White believes her breasts were twice clasped by a police officer, that she took photographs of the police officer she suspected of indecently assaulting her; the photographs were deleted by a police officer before the phone was returned to Ms White,” Bradd said.
Police produced a job sheet dated eight months after the arrest showing the camera in the mobile station was faulty and had been replaced. The magistrate said police had “no system in place” to check recordings from inside the station and to securely store the footage.
Acting for White, Phillip Boulten SC said: “The deletion of the photos was an act that intended to pervert the course of justice.” There was no suggestion in court that Wasko had any role in deleting the photos.
“The police officer who did commit a more serious offence against [White] has escaped any form of investigation or justice,” he said.
Bradd said the prosecution had conducted the case “in an improper manner” by accusing White during cross-examination of lying about taking the photos, despite the existence of video footage to the contrary.
White’s solicitor, Lydia Shelly, said it had taken 12 months of litigation to prove “my client is not a criminal”.
“This decision sends a very clear message to the police,” she said. “It is not a criminal offence to protest nor is it an offence to film police if you are not hindering their duties.
“The New South Wales public expect more from New South Wales police.”
A spokeswoman for NSW police said the circumstances of the case would be reviewed.
