I THOUGHT THEY WOULD KILL ME
QUEENSCLIFF PUB BRAWL CLAIM: Officer tells court ...
A POLICEMAN has described the moment he thought he was going to die after he allegedly came under attack at a Queenscliff pub.
Senior Constable Richard Pears took to the witness stand in Geelong Magistrates’ Court yesterday for the start of a contested hearing for Queenscliff couple Glenn Main, 60, and Annmaree Reid, 56.
It is alleged the pair attacked two police officers alongside their son, Harry Main, 21, during chaotic scenes at the Queenscliff Brewhouse on August 25 last year.
“I thought these guys are going to kill me,” Sen-Constable Pears said.
A POLICEMAN has described the moment he thought he was going to die after he allegedly came under attack at a Queenscliff pub.
Senior Constable Richard Pears took to the witness stand in Geelong Magistrates’ Court yesterday for the start of a contested hearing for Queenscliff couple Glenn Main, 60, and Annmaree Reid, 56.
It is alleged the pair attacked two police officers alongside their son, Harry Main, 21, during chaotic scenes at the Queenscliff Brewhouse on August 25 last year.
The trio are facing mandatory jail terms if found guilty of charges alleging they intentionally injured Sen-Constable Pears during the fracas.
The police officer told the court he feared for his life as he allegedly came under a barrage of punches while cowering on the ground.
“In a split second, I thought of my three kids,” Sen-Constable Pears said. “I thought these guys are going to kill me.”
The court heard the two police officers had been called to the venue by security shortly before 10.45pm to help remove several people, including Harry Main, after he returned to the pub following an eviction earlier in the night.
Sen-Constable Pears said he was guiding Harry Main to an exit when his father, Glenn, blocked him and said: “He’s not going anywhere.”
He said a brief tussle ensued before Harry Main grabbed his bulletproof vest and started “swinging haymakers” at his head and face.
The court heard the officer fell to the ground alongside Harry and Glenn Main, who allegedly joined each other in throwing punches at the policeman.
Sen-Constable Pears said he recalled a male voice saying to him as he lay on the ground: “You think you’re tough in that uniform, don’t you, c---?”
The officer said he was eventually able to activate an emergency button to call for police back-up.
He told the court it was the only time he had used the button during his seven-year career.
The policeman tore both anterior cruciate ligaments in his shoulder during the incident, while also suffering concussion and injuries to his back and leg.
He told the court he struggled to deal with the events of the night and first noticed issues while on a family holiday to the UK soon after the incident. “I felt flat. I kept running over the incident in my head,” he said. “I’d burst into tears for no reason.”
Leading Senior Constable Teresa Pikkert also took to the witness stand yesterday, telling the court she had been unable to return to full policing duties because of injuries she sustained to her wrist and shoulder on the night.
She said she pulled Harry Main’s hair and threw punches at him during the incident in a desperate attempt to get him off her colleague.
Meanwhile, a security guard working at the pub said he witnessed Glenn Main, Ms Reid and Harry Main all throw a series of punches at SenConstable Pears as he lay “defenceless” on the ground.
The contested hearing, which is scheduled to run for three days, is being held to test the allegations levelled at Ms Reid and Glenn Main.
Harry Main was meant to front the hearing alongside his parents, but told the court yesterday he instead wanted his matters decided by a jury in the County Court.
The hearing before Magistrate Ann McGarvie continues today.