Cop in Mitchell, Wighton case admits memory failed him
The most senior police officer behind the arrest of Latrell Mitchell and Jack Wighton has admitted his memory failed him while testifying against the NRL stars.
In bombshell evidence on day two of the duoās ACT Magistrates Court hearing, Sergeant David Power admitted core allegations he made about why he kicked Wighton out of a Canberra nightclub werenāt accurate.
Power earlier alleged he saw Wighton with clenched fists, anger in his face and holding a man by the shirt before he removed him from Fiction nightclub.
But Wightonās lawyer Steve Boland pieced together a timeline of events via CCTV footage that led the officer to admit none of it happened.
āWhat I saw appears to have not happened and my memory has failed me,ā Power told the court.
Boland said the officer had invented his evidence rather than forgotten what heād seen.
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He labelled the sergeantās story āa total and utter fantasy you dreamt up to justify everything that happensā.
Power denied heād intentionally misled the court. He acknowledged he had a ālong-term memory issueā.
After Wighton was removed from the nightclub, he and Mitchell were accused of fighting before both were arrested.
Mitchell could be heard crying out in pain and screaming āpleaseā as the playersā friends begged police to stop their āpolice brutalityā as they handcuffed him.
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The group had been at the nightclub celebrating Wightonās 30th birthday, before they spilled onto the street when the former Raider was removed from the venue for alleged aggressive behaviour.
Among the group protesting with police was Canberra captain Elliott Whitehead, who told one officer watching Mitchellās arrest āthe way you came over was out of orderā.
Power said he ādidnāt see an issue with itā even after watching the footage of the arrest.
Vision played on Monday showed Mitchell surrendering onto his knees before police elbowed, kneed and pushed him face-down onto the ground.
A police briefing note said he had āstruggledā and was ārequired to be put on his stomachā after falling to his knees.
Mitchell feared for his life and was a āweeping messā, the court heard.
His defence centres around alleged heavy-handed police conduct, the star South Sydney fullback having told police while being arrested: āIāve done nothing wrong but be a blackfella in Australia.ā
The Birpai and Wiradjuri man is charged with affray, fighting in a public place and resisting a territory official.
Wighton, who is also a Wiradjuri man, is charged with fighting in a public place and failing to comply with an exclusion direction.
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