A man has told a court he finds it hard not to despise himself, apologising after stabbing a police officer at his southwest Sydney home.
Crown prosecutor Leon Apostle told the NSW District Court on Tuesday the apology was "self-serving".
A jury found Rory James Constantino, 31, guilty of reckless wounding in September for stabbing Senior Constable James Vella at Sadleir in Sydney's southwest.
Plainclothes officers went to arrest Constantino's father Ricky over a firearm offence in June 2019.
Constantino claimed he acted in self-defence and did not believe the officers were police when he attacked Sen Const Vella with a bladed spear.
"This guy did not seem to be a police officer ... I thought I was going to die. I literally thought these guys were going to kill me," he said in a recorded police interview.
Mr Apostle told the jury at trial the "ludicrous suggestion" was an insult to their intelligence.
The jury had dismissed the claim of self-defence, Mr Apostle said during sentencing submissions on Tuesday, and Constantino's apology, read to the court by Judge Sarah Huggett, contained "untested evidence".
Constantino's barrister Brett Eurell told the court he had a genuine, if not misguided belief that the two men were not police, or at least a genuine doubt that they were.
"There is simply no evidence the offender knew the police were there to arrest his father, whether pursuant to a warrant or otherwise, because they had never said so," Mr Eurell said.
The unfortunate circumstances of the case was the result of fault on both sides, he said.
"One never wants to blame the victim or victims," Mr Eurell said.
"At the time of the wounding, an unlawful arrest was occurring, or an attempt at an unlawful arrest."
"There had been, at the very least, a questionable entry into the premises," he said.
No attempt had been made to call for uniformed officers to attend and calling for backup would have satisfied Constantino the police on his doorstep were genuine, Mr Eurell said.
Instead, the officers forced their way into the home, despite there being "no real rush".
"Clearly, it was not the last resort on this occasion," Mr Eurell said.
"Mr Constantino wasn't going anywhere, he was not long out of hospital being treated for leukaemia," Mr Eurell said.
The younger Constantino did not have an unblemished record, his barrister conceded, however his previous matters were not violent or consistent with someone who was a "cop hater".
The two opposing barristers on Tuesday submitted to Judge Huggett differing opinions on the objective seriousness of Constantino's offending.
Mr Apostle submitted it was at the higher end of the range, involving a decision to use a weapon in an attack that only ended when the wounded Sen Const Vella overpowered Constantino.
Mr Eurell said there was no evidence before the court that Sen Const Vella's injuries were substantial or life altering.
"The idea (Constantino's offending) falls above the mid-range, I don't mean this as hyperbole, it borders on the ridiculous," Mr Eurell said.
Constantino had also offered to plead guilty to a charge that was later dropped, but would have likely carried a more severe penalty, and he should be eligible for a discount on sentencing, Mr Eurell submitted.
Judge Huggett adjourned Constantino's sentencing until Monday afternoon.
