Man Alleges That A Policeman Assaulted Him

Wanganui Chronicle, 29 March 1949, Page 7

Man Alleges That A Policeman Assaulted Him

COURT HEARING ADJOURNED An allegation that when he refused to sign a statement in the i Hunterville Police Station on the night of December 28, last. Constable John Morris Pointon as-1 | saulted him, was made by James i Leslie Darcy Martin, saddler, Taihape, before Mr. J. 11. I Salmon, S.M., in the Magistrate’s J Court, Wanganui, yesterday.; Pointon. who is police constable : in charge of Ihc Hunterville Sta- ■ tiou, pleaded not guilty to a ’ charge of common assault, anil : after a hearing which extended well into the afternoon Hie ease was adjourned till April 7. Martin alleged that when he refused to sign the statement, Pointon struck him on the nose, and that while he had his head down and his nose was bleeding, he received a succession of blows on both ears. Ten witnesses were, heard for the Crown yesterday ; and six more have yet to be called. f I he magistrate commented that the adjournment was necessary because of the Court being engaged with other fixtures. The Crown Solicitor, Mr. N. R. Bain appeared for the police and Mr. X Meltzer (Wellington) for Pointon. Mr. Bain, in opening, said it was alleged that Pointon assaulted Martin in the course of obtaining a statement relating to a motor accident. This was . a serious charge. The Police Force in New Zealand had a reputation for et- . ficiency and fairness of which it was justly proud, and when serious allega- ' tions were made against a member of the force it was only right that these , allegations should be the subject of a ' searching inquiry. ’ MARTIN’S EVIDENCE. Martin, in evidence, said he was a 1 saddler in business at Taihape. During 1 the last Christmas and New Year holidays he was staying in Hunter- 1 ville with a friend, Edgar Ronald > Griffin, and on December 24 was in a motor truck which collided with a 1 bridge near Hunterville. As a result ’ he received a cut over the side of his : right eye and the mark was still visible, but this was his only injury. He 1 had bled a little and was finally taken to a doctor's surgery in Hunterville. There was a lot of blood on his t clothes, but they had since been cleaned. Much of the blood, however, was i from another man sitting beside him ' in the truck. On the afternoon of December 28, witness added, he was in the bar ot > the Railway Hoted, Hunterville, with some of his friends. He arrived there shortly before 5 p.m. Constable : Pointon entered the bar later, but witness could not state the time. The constable was in plain clothes and witness did not know him. ‘Tie was , drinking in the company I was in ana I saw him have three drinks, but 1 am unable to say what time he left, , witness added. , The constable was standing outside the hotel when witness left at 6 p.m. Previously, Pointon had told witness, in the bar, that he wanted to see him later. Witness had about 10 medium beers. He did not have any conversation with Pointon outside the hotel. At about 9 p.m. witness saw Pointon ' talking to Griffin on the corner of the 1 main street in Hunterville. Pointon said: “You come with me.’’ Witness did as he was told and from inquiries made previously knew by then that Pointon was a constable. Mr. Bain: Was the constable quite sober? Witness: I don’t know whether he was or not. He was a stranger to me. He was walking all right. NOTICE ABOVE DOOR. On arrival al the police station, Pointon'indicated the wording above the door, witness added, ana said: "Read that. This is a police office, so you will know where you are.’’ Aller being asked Ins full name, Pointon loin him to lake everything out of his pockets, said witness. He was also asked lor Ills address and occupation and as the answers were given Pointon was using a typewriter. Mr. Bain: Why did he ask you to go to the police station? Witness: lie did not say. Questioned further, witness said a nw.i told him earlier that Pointon wanted a statement about tile accident. He had inis in mind when he went with Pointon. Asked where he had been on Christmas Eve and what drink he had consumed, said witness, he replied that he had had two glasses of beer at the Gentlemen s Cluo. Alter typing about half a sheet Pointon took the paper out of the machine and asked him to sign it. Witness replied: “No, 1 can’t sign that. ’ Pointon then said it was a statement and he had to sign it. Alter he had again replied that he could nol sign, said witness, Pointon got up, and without warning, struck him across the bridge of the nose witli his open hand. “The blood poured from my nose as I had my head down and he hit me very Hard about botn ears witii both hands, 1 witness added. “I would say he did this 12 or 13 times. He was talking while he was doing it, but 1 did not know' what he was saying.” Mr. Bain: Did he give you tlie statement to read? Witness: No, the statement was on the desk. You did not have the statement in your hands?—“No, I was sitting about a yard from the desk.’’ QUESTION OF STATEMENT. Wnen shown a statement dated December 28, witness said lie did not think lie had signed it that night. The statement be had signed was about half way up the page. Witness added that blood ran from his nose to the front oi his trousers and also on to tiie floor. There was blood on his shirt and Pointon threw a blood-stained handkerchief on to the hearth. Witness was at the police station for about an hour and Pointon asked him not to say anything about what had happened. Witness replied that ho would not say anything. Pointon jumped up with his hands out, as though he was going to strike him again, and said: "Can I ( trust, you ” Witness replied: “Yes.” Witness produced a bloodstained khaki shirt, a pair of trousers, and!

' also a handkerchief covered in blood, i which he said he was wearing that i night. He added that he signed the statement because he feared anothe. assault. i After he had told Pointon that he ; would say nothing about it, said witness, Pointon remarked that he would . clean his clothes and produced a bottle of methylated spirits, remarking that it would remove the blood stains. The I stains went hard, however, and Pointon said it did not matter. Witness picked up a bloodstained handkerchief i from the hearth, but Pointon said to leave it and he would wash it and send it to him. Witness added that ; Pointon subsequently took him to the bathroom of the police residence, where he had a wash in the hand : basin. "He told me before we left the I station that he would run nte home." . witness said. ife got into the car and I as they drove along the main street Pointon showed surprise that the pictures were out. Pointon had previously remarked that he would take him to where Hie accident occurred. On arrival at the bridge witness said he did not think this was the place. They then drove to the next bridge’. The approaches of both bridges were similar. Neither of them got out of the car. Pointon later drove witness to Griffin’s place. He had already told i him to return to Taihape and shut, his i mouth when he got there. On arrival at Griffin’s place, witness added, he was told by Pointon to go straight to bed. WOUND OTTER EYE. Mr. Bain: When you entered the police station that night what was the condition of the wound that you had received over your eye in the motor collision? Witness: It was all right and healing up. It had not given any trouble. Next morning, said witness, he and Griffin went to the Hunterville police station to look for a car key. They met Pointon, but the experiences of the previous night were not discussed. That day witness went to Wanganui and reported the matter to the police. Cross-examined by Mr. Meltzer, witness said that he was 29 years of age and for two years served overseas with the 25th Battalion. He was wounded while on active service. Mr. Meltzer: On the night of December 24 you had been drinking in Hunterville ?—“Yes." At what time did you meet, Scott, the driver of the truck?—“At approximately 10 o’clock.’’ Did you on a previous occasion say that It was 12 o'clock or one o’clock, when you met Scott? —“No, I did not say that." Mr. Meltzer, producing a statement: Is that your signature?—“lt may be, but I would not swear to it.” Witness denied that he had said In the statement, produced by Mr. Meltzer, that he had met Scott at 12 o'clock or one o'clock. He also denied that he was a passenger in the centre of the truck. Mr. Meltzer: Did you read the statement through before you signed it?— “No, I did not." Do you remember making a statement to Senior-Sergeant Culloty at Hunterville on December 30 and signing it?—“Yes." Questioned further, witness said he did not remember very much about the contents of this statement because he was not well at the time. He did not think that he had made two contradictory statements; about where he was sitting in the truck. difference admitted. Cross-examined about the amount ot bleeding from the cut over his eye on the day after the accident, witness admitted that there was a difference between what he had told Senior-Ser-geant Culloty and what he had said in the witness-box that day. Witness said that his nose was still swollen and very sore when he called at the central Police Station, Wanganui, on December 29. He would not agree with the senior sergeant and a constable if they said they saw nothing wrong with it. Cross-examined further, witness said that the other clothes he wore on the day of the accident were at present in Hunterville. He had worn them the previous day. Witness admitted making statements to the Wanganui police on December 29 and 30. If he had told Senior-Sergeant Culloty, in the statement of Deecember 30, that Pointon did not take hint to the scene of the accident on the night of December 28, but drove him straight home, then this statement was not correct. “I must have made a mistake," said witness. Mr.Meltzer: Would you agree with me that this sentence in your statement was untrue? Witness: Yes, it is untrue. You say that blood poured from your nose? -“Yes.’’ Then it is reasonable to expect that there would be some blood in the office of the police station?—“There was blood on the floor. Constable Pointon was cleaning it up." INSPECTION OF OFFICE. You were given an opportunity by Senior-Sergeant Culloty, of inspecting the office on December 30 —“Yes. 1 inspected the floor, but could not see any blood on it-’’ Witness added that he was looking after the key of Griffin’s car when jt tell from his pocket. When he went to Wanganui and called at the Central Police Station he asked Io see the inspector, but he had said nothing to Constable Pointon about an alleged offence. Mr. Meltzer: Don’t you think it would have been fair to have approached him?—"No, I don't think that would have been tne correct thing to do." Mr. Bain: Can you give any explanation o. those untrue sentences in your statement? Witness: 1 was telling the truth as 1 saw it at the time, but I was feeling crook. Crook as a result of what?—"The assault." The magist rate: Why did you refuse Io sign the statement, on the night ot' December 28?—'I did tot know what was in it." But you would have had an oppor- , tunity of reading it?- “1 did not have an opportunity of seeing it." You say that while the constable was striking you, your nose was bleeding?-- “Yes.” You also described these as hard blows?- "Yes, they were." Then it would he difficult for him to avoid getting blood on his hands?- - “I did not see any blood on his hands." “There is not a great deal of blood on those trousers,” the magistrate said, indicating a pair of trousers produced earlier in the hearing. Witness: 1 washed a fair bit off.

DOCTOR’S EVIDENCE. Evidence of being called to an accident on December 24, when a truck ran into a concrete bridge, was given by Dr. N. J. Mcliroy (Hunterville,'. A man named English had a fractured leg and Martin had received a small superficial wound on the outer edge of his right eyebrow. The wound was bleeding, hut did not require attention. Witness saw Martin in the surgery later and got the impression that he had been drinking. Edga r Ronald Griffin, rabbit inspector employed by the Hunterville Rabbit Board, said he had known Martin for about 12 years. He described seing blood on Martin’s clothes after the accident on December 24. On December 28, said witness, he was in the Station Hotel with Martin and several others, when Pointon came in about 5 p.m. and shouted for them. He remained till six o’clock and had eight or nine drinks. “I woula say he was sober," witness added. He was in town for the pictures that evening and at about nine o'clock was talking to Pointon when Martin arrived, said witness. Pointon told Martin that he wanted to see him, and they went away together. Witness walked home from the pictures that evening and when' near the Station Hotel Pointon’s car went past. When he arrived home witness added, Martin was in the kitchen. “He looked to me as though he was slightly dazed. He told me what had happened," said witness. “His face was quite clean, but there were bruises and swelling on the bridge of his nose, on both eyes, and behind the ears. Both eyes were discoloured and were practically black next morning." Witness said he saw blood on Martin's clothes and could smell methylated spirits. Martin was a sick man for three days before he went away. Witness met Constable Pointon next day, but said nothing about the alleged assault of the previous night. On December 30, said witness, he saw Pointon at Dr. Mcllroy’s, and told him that Martin was “crook." Pomton said: “What is wrong with him, and witness replied: “You ought to know. He was in good order when you took him out of my hands last night, but he was in a hang of a mess when you brought him home." Pointon said: “Who, me?” Witness replied: “If it was not you, I don’t know who it was." Witness then said that Martin was covered in blood when he got home and Pointon replied that he did see Martin picking at the sores beside his eye. Pointon said that Martin was in his office, but he did not get a statement, witness added. Cross-examined by Mr. Meltzer, witness admitted that at first he refused to make a statement, but later did so. He did not think that the Wanganui police treated Martin well In keeping him so long when he made the statements of December 29 and 30. On one occasion he was with them for three hours. FAITH IN POLICE. Mr. Meltzer: You don’t seem to have much faith in the police? Witness: Yes, I have. Mr. Meltzer: Then you thought the best way of helping the police to obtain information was by saying nothing? Witness said he had discussed the question with a Hunterville solicitor and was advised not to make a statement. Later, however, he agreed to make a statement to a sergeant. In reply to the magistrate, witness said that when he went to Wanganui on December 29, Martin attempted to see a doctor in Marton, but he was out. The magistrate: Was he taken to a doctor in Wanganui?—"No." Was he taken to a doctor when you got back to Hunterville? —'No, he went straight to bed when we got back." If Martin wished to be examined by a doctor on December 29, why did he not attempt to see one in Wanganui? —“After he came out of the Police Station he said he was sick of it and wanted to go home. He was so long in the police station ?—’.Yes." Nellie Griffin, wife of the previous witness, said that on the morning of December 28 Martin was not suffering from the previous accident and was as well as could be. When she saw him that night, however, she thought that there was something wrong with him. Witness added that she saw what appeared to be fresh blood on his trousers, shirt and collar. Mr. Bain: Was he any different when you saw him on the morning of December 29? Witness: He looked sort of crook to me and would not cat. He looked sort of battered about. I would like you to be a little more explicit?—"He looked ill to me." Alexander Richard Gardiner Dalziell, garage proprietor, Hunterville, said he lived next door to the police station. On December 28 lie retired at 10 p.m. and about 45 minutes later heard a noise in the police office as though somebody was walking witii heavy bools, lite noise lasted for a few seconds. Witness looked out, noticed a light and saw Pointon and his wife looking for something in the grass. He heard a key mentioned. To Mr. Meltzer, witness said that the noise could have been caused by chairs being pushed about while a search was being made in the office. The driver of the truck involved in the accident on December 24, Alexander Kenn Scott, farmer, Hunterville, said he reported the accident to the Hunterville police on December 27. Witness aded that he saw Martin on December 28 and at that time there appeared to be little wrong with him, but when lie saw him again two days later Martin looked battered about. Mr. Meltzer: How were you treated by Constable Pointon when you made the statement to him? Witness: Excellently. His treatment of me was good. 1 have no complaint in that respect. At this stage the hearing was adjourned tilt April 7.