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Quite often the slightest contact with a police officer in the execution of their duty will result in you getting charged for assaulting police. Many clients of ours find that they are wrongly charged with assaulting police, particularly when they themselves have been injured or bashed by a police officer.

We will vigorously defend you if you feel you have been wrongly charged with this offence.

Your options

Plead not guilty

In order to be convicted of this offence, the police must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that:

  1. You assaulted, stalked, harassed or intimidated a police officer;
  2. At the time the police officer was in the execution of their duty.

If it is alleged that a particular type of harm was inflicted on a police officer then the prosecution may also have to prove beyond reasonable doubt that:

  1. Actual bodily harm was caused, being an injury that need not be permanent, but must be more than “merely transient or trifling” recklessly; or
  2. Grievous bodily harm was caused, being “really serious” injury, recklessly; or
  3. Wounding was caused, being an injury that pierces the inner and outer layer of the skin, recklessly.

If any of the above elements cannot be proven beyond reasonable doubt, then you will be found not guilty of the offence.

If the above elements can be proven beyond reasonable doubt, you will still be found not guilty if any of the following defences can be established:

Our experienced criminal lawyers will advise you of your prospects of successfully defending any charge brought against you and fight to have you found not guilty of the offence.

Plead guilty

If you agree with what the police are alleging against you, the way to get the best result is often to plead guilty as it demonstrates remorse and contrition as well as meaning that you will be entitled to a discount on your sentence. Alternatively, it may be the case that one of our experienced solicitors can negotiate with prosecutors for you to plead guilty to a less serious charge.

The offence of Assaulting police carries a maximum penalty of 2 years imprisonment in the Local Court and 5 years imprisonment in the District Court. If an injury was inflicted on the police officer then the maximum penalties increase significantly. Assault police, depending on the seriousness of the assault, is an offence that may in some circumstances be dealt with pursuant to section 10 of the Crimes (Sentence Procedure) Act, meaning no conviction will be recorded, there is no other penalty and you will have no criminal record. To find out more about a section 10, click here.

Generally, penalties that a court can impose for any criminal offence in NSW are:

Our client was charged with, amongst other offences, assaulting police in their execution of duty.

He suffered injuries as a result of the incident. He strongly denied the charges and told us what really happened.  We immediately sought a copy of CCTV footage from the Rail Corp.

Fortunately for our client, the footage was clear and unobstructed, showing absolutely no wrongdoing by our client. Ultimately the case went to a defended hearing at Bankstown Local Court.

On the morning of the hearing the police withdrew all charges.  We sought an order from the court that the Police pay for the legal costs of our client.

The magistrate agreed with us and made an order that our client’s legal costs be paid by the NSW Police.

Our client was charged with Assault Police in Execution of Duty, allegedly committed outside “The Macquarie” in Liverpool, Western Sydney.

It was alleged that our client poked his finger at a Police officer’s chest, calling him a liar at the same time. Our client strongly denied these allegations, taking the case to a hearing at Campbelltown Local Court.

In preparing for the case, Adam of our office interviewed several witnesses who supported our client’s version of events, all of them clearly denying that an assault took place.

The matter appeared before Magistrate Rabbage at Campbelltown Local Court in early 2013, with four witnesses attending Court to support our client’s case.

Not surprisingly, the Police withdrew the charge of Assault Police in Execution of Duty.

Our client was charged with assaulting police outside Liverpool Train Station. It was alleged that our client tried to elbow a police officer in the course of being apprehended.

We immediately obtained the CCTV footage of the incident from State Rail, who sent us a CD copy of what actually happened.

The footage clearly showed our client being set upon by about 12 police officers, dragged to the ground for no reason and bashed by several police officers.

Our client suffered serious head injuries. It was clear that our client did not elbow, or assault anyone.

The case went to hearing at Bankstown Local Court before Magistrate McNulty. We were ready to proceed, when all of a sudden on the morning of the hearing, with all of the police witnesses present and the video ready to be played, the Police chose to withdraw the charge.

We made an application for costs against the police, in light of the CCTV footage and what we said was a malicious prosecution.

Magistrate McNulty awarded legal costs to our client.

Our client pleaded guilty to assaulting police and resisting arrest.

The circumstances in which the offence occurred involved our client sitting in a gutter in Sydney, soaking wet and wearing only one shoe. When Police noticed our client he hopped over to Police. He swore at Police and then pushed an officer who was sitting in the Police car making contact with his left eye. Police attempted to arrest our client during which he resisted by attempting to struggle free.

The reason for our client’s strange and highly uncharacteristic behaviour is that he had taken bad LSD which had severe side effects. Our client’s friend who took the same LSD ended up in hospital.

Our client was sentenced before the Downing Centre Local Court where our solicitor persuasively argued for a section 10 on the basis of our client’s good character and sincere remorse following an awful lesson in the consequences of illicit drugs.

Our client received a section 10(1)(b) bond for 2 years.

This was an excellent result for our client who was a young man with all his life ahead of him.

Our client was out drinking with a friend when a disturbance occurred with Hotel Security. Police attended and a scuffle started where our client became involved. He and his friend were arrested and charged with Resist/Hinder police Officer and Assault Police Officer.

We successfully negotiated with Police over the alleged facts and represented our client at a sentence hearing. Submissions were made to the Magistrate who was persuaded not to record a criminal conviction against our client but to place him on a Good Behavior Bond for a period of 18 months.

The Magistrate was swayed by the submissions in relation to ‘any other matter that the court thinks proper to consider’ those being the ‘overwhelming subjective material and family support displayed’.

The Co-offender was convicted receiving a Criminal Record and a Bond.

Our client was charged with assaulting a Police officer and failing to leave premises. The assault consisted of our client spitting on the police officer after she was forcibly removed from the club.

Our solicitor managed to negotiate the facts with the Police to remove any mention of her threatening the Police before spitting on the officer.

The matter was heard before magistrate Farnon at Waverley Local Court, at the hearing our solicitor supplied the court with affidavits and reference letters showing that our client had been going through a tough time and that these acts were extremely out of character.

Our client had also recently just started managing a large business and it was clear that her future prospects were bright. Our solicitor was successful in arguing that a section 10 bind was the most appropriate penalty.

Magistrate Farnon agreed and placed our client on s10 bond, a great result for our client who was extremely worried about the possibility of having a criminal conviction on her record.

Our client came to LY Lawyers after a defended hearing gone wrong in the Local Court. She was convicted by the Magistrate of Assaulting Police and Resisting Arrest and put on a good behaviour bond under section 9.

An appeal was lodged on both severity and conviction ground. After receiving advice, our client gave us instructions to proceeded on a severity basis only. After obtaining all the documents we needed, our solicitor was successful on appeal and our client was placed on a bond under section 10(1)(b) for 18 months for both assaulting Police and resiting Police, despite the strong objections from the Director of Public Prosecution.

Judge Sides of Parramatta District Court agreed with our submissions and proceeded to dismiss the charges.

This was a particularly good result as the assault was instigated by our client after Police were leaving the scene.

Contact us for your FREE initial consultation.

Available at our Sydney CBD, Parramatta, Liverpool, Wollongong, Newcastle or Gosford office.

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Achieving results one case at a time

The team at LY Lawyers were great to deal with, after getting charged with a minor offence. The costs were upfront and affordable. Communication was great and I felt like they really cared about me. If I was ever in trouble again they would be my first point of call for help.

Sarah Davies

Ly Lawyers
5.0
2017-02-01T00:09:03+00:00

Sarah Davies

The team at LY Lawyers were great to deal with, after getting charged with a minor offence. The costs were upfront and affordable. Communication was great and I felt like they really cared about me. If I was ever in trouble again they would be my first point of call for help.

Achieving results one case at a time

What a result from a great team!

Adam handled my case and put everything he had into it. He's a great lawyer at affordable fees. Would highly recommend.

John L.

Ly Lawyers
5.0
2017-02-01T01:38:38+00:00

John L.

What a result from a great team! Adam handled my case and put everything he had into it. He's a great lawyer at affordable fees. Would highly recommend.

Achieving results one case at a time

Highly recommend! Joseph handled my case and got the result he said i would, communication was great and his advice on what to do to help my case was great, dont hesitate to give them a call if you ever need legal help.

Todd Hurring

Ly Lawyers
5.0
2017-06-25T22:46:32+00:00

Todd Hurring

Highly recommend! Joseph handled my case and got the result he said i would, communication was great and his advice on what to do to help my case was great, dont hesitate to give them a call if you ever need legal help.

Achieving results one case at a time

Want to say a big thanks to Adam and the team, was looking at jail without a doubt, already had 2 other common assaults, a GBH, and a fair few other charges on my record and facing another GBH. Never done jail before and thought this was my time for sure. Great service from them, Adam always answered my calls and step me through everything the whole way. Managed to stay out of jail with a ICO order, big win, thanks again, highly recommend

Breno T.

Ly Lawyers
5.0
2017-06-25T22:53:27+00:00

Breno T.

Want to say a big thanks to Adam and the team, was looking at jail without a doubt, already had 2 other common assaults, a GBH, and a fair few other charges on my record and facing another GBH. Never done jail before and thought this was my time for sure. Great service from them, Adam always answered my calls and step me through everything the whole way. Managed to stay out of jail with a ICO order, big win, thanks again, highly recommend

Achieving results one case at a time

I just wanted to say a big thank you to LY Lawyers. My husband just got his sentence at Parramatta District Court last week, expecting to be in jail a lot longer. He was charged with supplying commercial drugs. LY Lawyers represented him with great passion and commitment, all of their staff chipping in to get a short sentence. Only a year to go before he gets out!

Kim Smith

Ly Lawyers
5.0
2017-06-25T22:53:58+00:00

Kim Smith

I just wanted to say a big thank you to LY Lawyers. My husband just got his sentence at Parramatta District Court last week, expecting to be in jail a lot longer. He was charged with supplying commercial drugs. LY Lawyers represented him with great passion and commitment, all of their staff chipping in to get a short sentence. Only a year to go before he gets out!

Achieving results one case at a time

It was a pleasure to work with LY Lawyers. They got me off from my charge. Could not thank them enough!

William Song

Ly Lawyers
5.0
2017-06-25T22:54:34+00:00

William Song

It was a pleasure to work with LY Lawyers. They got me off from my charge. Could not thank them enough!

Achieving results one case at a time

Joseph was amazing and did a fine job representing me in my case. He got the job done and got me the result I wanted.

Habib Rahman

Ly Lawyers
5.0
2017-06-25T22:55:09+00:00

Habib Rahman

Joseph was amazing and did a fine job representing me in my case. He got the job done and got me the result I wanted.

Achieving results one case at a time

Joseph you did an amazing job representing me at Sydney District court . My prior lawyer didn't do anything for me in the local court, but u guys were great in the district court. Thanks for being patient with me too.

Josh Tyler

Ly Lawyers
5.0
2017-06-25T22:56:43+00:00

Josh Tyler

Joseph you did an amazing job representing me at Sydney District court . My prior lawyer didn't do anything for me in the local court, but u guys were great in the district court. Thanks for being patient with me too.

Achieving results one case at a time

I just wanted to say thank you for helping me with my case and THANK YOU for the section 10!

Craig H

Ly Lawyers
5.0
2017-06-25T22:57:53+00:00

Craig H

I just wanted to say thank you for helping me with my case and THANK YOU for the section 10!
5.0
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