A Tasmanian police officer who punched a man in the head during a dramatic arrest was not acting in self-defence and used unreasonable force, according to the state's chief magistrate.
Constable Oliver Smith, 23, was charged with common assault after an incident in the north-west Tasmanian town of Penguin in January, 2022.
Constable Smith was one of several officers who responded to a call that a man, Roger Compain, was experiencing a schizophrenic episode and was destroying property.
When police arrived, Mr Compain — who the court was told was known to be linked to a criminal gang known as the "Bad Mother F*****s" — was armed with a bow and arrow.
He fired, narrowly missing one of the officers' head, the court had been told.
"Mr Compain was completely unresponsive to attempts to tactically resolve the situation," Chief Magistrate Catherine Geason said in her reasons for her decision.
While still armed with the bow and arrow, Mr Compain then drove off in his car before he was stopped after police deployed road spikes.
He then armed the bow with an arrow again, according to court documents, which prompted some of the officers to draw their firearms.
Constable Smith then rushed at Mr Compain to disarm him, before throwing the bow and arrow out of the way.
It was at this stage, while Mr Compain was unarmed, the constable delivered "a forceful closed fist punch" to the head before the man was arrested.
"The officers were entitled to use such force as may be reasonably necessary to overcome any force used by Mr Compain in resisting his arrest or preventing his escape," Chief Magistrate Geason said.
"In my view, punching Mr Compain to the head was force that went beyond what was reasonable to effect the arrest or escape.
"Despite the dynamic situation, [it] was not reasonable force for Constable Smith to defend himself or other police officers."
Lethal threat had been removed
In evidence, Constable Smith said he believed Mr Compain posed an imminent threat to police of death or serious injury.
The court had previously been shown body camera footage where Constable Smith referred to Mr Compain as a "dog" and said the punch was the "biggest hook" he had ever done.
"[Constable Smith] accepts those comments were not appropriate or professional but denies that he was gloating about his actions," court documents said.
"He believes he was processing the incident — which was highly stressful, scary and overwhelming — and regrets what he said."
Constable Smith had told the court he wasn't sure how close the other officers were to him, but Chief Magistrate Geason said the body-worn camera footage showed otherwise.
"It is apparent that, at the time Constable Smith punches Mr Compain to the head, that there are two other officers in very close proximity to Constable Smith and Mr Compain," she said.
"It is difficult to reconcile Constable Smith's statement that he wasn't sure if any of the officers were close enough to assist with the arrest."
Chief Magistrate Geason said she understood it would have been an "extremely difficult" situation but said the officer was not acting in self-defence of himself or others.
"It was through the brave actions of Constable Smith that he was able to disarm Mr Compain and remove the lethal threat," she said.
"However, once that occurred, there were two other officers present with Constable Smith, Mr Compain [was] on his knees and the lethal threat [had] been removed.
"From my observations of the footage, Constable Smith instinctively takes advantage of the fact that Mr Compain is on his knees and, to ensure the arrest can be effected, he forcefully punches Mr Compain to the head.
"There were three police officers, all on their feet, able to use other levels of force at that stage to effect the arrest, a forceful punch to the head in my view was not reasonable."
Chief Magistrate Geason found Constable Smith guilty of assault.
He will be sentenced on February 13.
In a statement, a Tasmania Police spokesperson said Constable Smith was "placed on non-operational duties on 27 June 2022 and remains on non-operational duties", adding the "conviction has been noted".
"Following sentencing and comments from the magistrate, a Tasmania Police code of conduct investigation will be undertaken by Professional Standards to determine any further actions."
