The final charge against NRL star Tom Starling for an incident on the NSW Central Coast has been dismissed after a magistrate found police breached their duty when they "assaulted" him.
The 22-year-old Canberra Raiders hooker was initially charged with seven offences after a police officer was left with a cut to his hand while allegedly intervening in a fight involving Starling and his two brothers in 2020.
In January last year, all the charges relating to the incident against him were dropped except for one: hindering an officer.
On Friday Magistrate Daniel Covington found the police officers involved behaved outside of their duty, and dismissed that last charge.
The Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney saw CCTV footage of police punching Starling in the face multiple times, a scene Magistrate Covington called a "free for all".
"One that is more typically seen in a street fight as opposed to officers in their duty," he said.
"Clearly what occurred was nothing other than Tom being assaulted himself."
Magistrate Covington also said Senior Constable Daniel Drew admitted to the court that he had "no reason to punch" Starling.
Starling spoke outside the court following the verdict, and said he was "very happy with the outcome".
He thanked his lawyer Samar Singh-Panwar along with his fellow Canberra Raiders, and made special mention of Don Furner and Ricky Stuart, who spoke up in support of Starling after he was charged.
"I've always said I did nothing wrong that night," Starling said.
"[I'm] very relieved. It's been a long two years for me and my family, and we're happy it's come to an outcome.
"[Now I'm looking forward to] just going back and playing footy with my mates."
The court heard the brothers had been celebrating a friend's 21st birthday at a Central Coast pub the night of the incident.
Starling and his brothers brawled with the officers, but only his youngest brother — Josh Starling, 21 — was found guilty of any charges relating to the incident.
Josh Starling was arrested after he allegedly pushed Khan Morris, a security guard, who called his mother a "slut".
Tom Starling allegedly left the stage area when he witnessed police escort his brother outside the venue.
Mr Morris denied he had insulted the Starlings' mother, but Magistrate Covington said the denial "flies in the face of the objective evidence".
"Josh is clearly enraged by something said by Morris," he told the court of the CCTV footage.
"All of the evidence clearly points to the fact that Morris had called Josh's mother a slut."
Josh Starling was found guilty of common assault against Mr Morris and resisting police, but the two charges of assaulting an officer against him were dismissed.
He was sentenced to an 18-month conditional release order without conviction.
Starling's lawyer, Samar Singh-Panwar, told reporters outside the court he expected Magistrate Covington's findings would be taken into account during the internal investigation, and said there was the possibility of a civil action against NSW Police for their conduct.
"We know that there are police investigating the police … and I would expect that these findings that were made by the magistrate today will be something that police take into account when they consider that further," Mr Singh-Panwar said.
"There is the potential for a civil action against NSW Police, particularly given the findings His Honour made today in relation to the conduct of certain police as it was directed at Tom Starling in particular."
ABC/AAP
