Experts back trio’s bail
Outrage at release of alleged cop bashers
LEGAL experts and civil libertarians have jumped to the defence of a Cairns magistrate who released on bail three men, charged with assaulting a police officer.
Brodie and Darcy Rayner, 22 and 20, and their friend Jayden Symons, 21, were allegedly drunk when they turned on the 28-year-old acting sergeant near the Esplanade Lagoon on Tuesday night, knocking him unconscious.
They appeared in the Cairns Magistrates Court on Wednesday where Acting Magistrate Susie Warrington granted them bail, prompting a huge public backlash with most questioning why they were allowed out.
Queensland Council for Civil Liberties vice president Terry O’Gorman labled the reaction as “sensationalist” and “misinformed”.
He echoed the comments of Chief Magistrate Ray Rinaudo that bail decisions were a balance between the seriousness of the offence with the likelihood of the alleged offender turning up to court.
“Bail decisions are made soon after an arrest and months, sometimes years, before a court, after weighing the prosecution and defence evidence, Brodie Rayner comes to a verdict,” he said.
“While the allegations against the three men are serious, they are just that at this early stage in the court process, untried untested and unproven allegations.”
The police officer involved in the alleged assault suffered multiple abrasions and was initially treated in Cairns Hospital.
The three men allegedly fled the scene and were arrested a short time later on Ab- bott St. Former Queensland Law Society president Bill Potts said no grant of bail was “risk free” but the backlog in the court system meant someone may spend longer than they deserve in custody if denied bail.
“The question of granting someone bail is not whether they are guilty, but if the community is at risk if they remain in the community pending (a court resolution),” he said.
The trio’s case is due back in court on July 19.
Brodie Rayner is now also facing further charges after it was alleged the threw a chair through the window of a cafe before the alleged assault.
WHILE THE ALLEGATIONS AGAINST THE THREE MEN ARE SERIOUS, THEY ARE JUST THAT AT THIS EARLY STAGE IN THE COURT PROCESS, UNTRIED UNTESTED AND UNPROVEN ALLEGATIONS
editorial@cairnspost.com.au facebook.com/TheCairnsPost www.cairnspost.com.au twitter.com/TheCairnsPost