A YOUNG police officer is called to a brawl involving drunken patrons outside a suburban tavern at the end of a hot February day last year. It's run-of-the-mill stuff, nuts and bolts policing as one copper would later describe it.
When Constable Matthew Butcher, 32, arrives with four other officers to find a group swapping punches and wrestling outside Joondalup's Old Baily Tavern, it's about 8pm, still light and chaotic.
Video captured on a mobile phone shows spot-fire punch-ups breaking out all over the road.
Then, out of nowhere, you see Barry McLeod, 29 -- who with his brother Scott, 35, and father Robert, 56, were drinking at the pub when the fracas began -- running full belt at Butcher's back. The officer had just stunned the older McLeod with his Taser gun after he was set upon by the father of the two younger men. Barry McLeod launches himself and headbutts the struggling, unsuspecting officer in the back of the head. Like a falling tree, Constable Butcher goes face first into the concrete, where he remains motionless.
Minutes later and after the video ends, the older McLeod, who has a heart condition, then makes the calamity complete by having a heart attack, no doubt brought on by the fight and Taser stun gun. Other officers, while being abused and threatened by the aggressive, gesticulating brothers, perform CPR on the dying man and save his life. The ambulance called for Constable Butcher leaves the crime scene carrying a revived Robert McLeod. A second later, an ambulance takes the injured officer to hospital, where he fights for his life for weeks. He is now paralysed down the left side of his body, confined to a wheelchair and has serious issues with his sight.
Late on Thursday, a jury acquits the McLeods of all charges except one, saying it was not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the officers were acting lawfully. In other words, the jury found that the police were overzealous in their actions. So who was on trial here? The police, apparently.
The reaction to the decision has been rabid. Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan has appealed for calm among his angry and shocked troops, and admits there have been at least two resignations in the past 24 hours. The police union says it is outraged and the verdict will demoralise the force and kill recruiting.
Others urge the Butcher camp to pursue the McLeods in the civil courts. The McLeods engaged high-priced Melbourne silks at about $8000 a day for a six-week trial. Some suggest their legal bill may nudge $500,000.
Yesterday, Scott McLeod was fined $4000 after being found guilty of threatening to kill bystander Jason Winchip. Winchip took the incriminating video. McLeod told Winchip he would "f..king kill you if you do not delete the f..king video".
His lawyer, Richard Utting, told the court that his client also wished to thank the two officers who saved his father's life. No doubt Constable Butcher and his colleagues will be chuffed by McLeod's kind words.
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