Court told officer in road rage incident
Sgt Hosie tried to merge into another lane as the one he was travelling along was about to end.
Sojan-hunter was allegedly driving in the lane Sgt Hosie was trying to merge into, with the police officer accelerating to try to get in front of the man.
The court heard Sgt Hosie had to brake heavily to swerve behind Sojan-hunter to merge into the left-hand lane.
The two men had a heated exchange, with both yelling at each other to pull over.
Both men pulled over outside the front of the Mundingburra Police Station and got out of their cars to confront each other.
About 6.45pm the pair got into a fight, with Sojan-hunter being arrested shortly after.
Both men were taken to the Townsville Hospital for treatment of their injuries.
Sojan-hunter pleaded not guilty to one count of driving without due care and one count of serious assault of a police officer when he faced Townsville Magistrates Court yesterday.
Under cross-examination Sgt Hosie said once he got out of his car, he showed the young man his police identification.
Sgt Hosie said he sustained lacerations to his left jaw after being punched several times by Sojan-hunter, and soreness in his chest after being kicked and thrown to the ground by him.
Sgt Hosie said while he was being attacked, he staggered backwards over the gutter holding on to Sojan-hunter and taking him down with him, before rolling on top of the man and pinning him to the ground.
He said Sojan-hunter started shouting about his hand, that it was broken, to which Sgt Hosie replied, “I don’t give a f*** about your hand I’m a police officer and you’re f*****”.
Sojan-hunter’s defence barrister Kelly Stone suggested Sgt Hosie had choked the man when he was restraining him, with the officer rejecting the statement.
Mr Stone told the court Sgt Hosie had “been in trouble before” for using a lateral vascular neck restraint on a man, rendering him unconscious and dislocating his neck.
That man then sued the police, with the case appearing before the Crime and Corruption Commission, which found the sergeant had used the lethal force option to subdue the man.
The trial will resume on July 16 before Magistrate Peter Smid.