Cop denies assault on teenager

A SERVING police officer has gone on trial on charges of assaulting a 13-year-old boy after allegedly grabbing the boy around his neck.

But the policeman, who yesterday pleaded not guilty to a single assault charge, said he took hold of the boy to prevent him from harm.

The man, whose name is suppressed, is facing a jury trial in the Napier District Court.

The court heard he was at the alleged victim’s house in Havelock North, where he was a visitor, on June 1 last year when the alleged assault took place.

In a video of a police interview played to the jury yesterday, the alleged victim, now aged 14, said the policeman had been working on a boat outside the house while he played a PlayStation game in the lounge.

In the video, the boy said he became upset over his performance in the game and threw the PlayStation on the ground, smashing it.

He said that after moving away from the game he became aware of the policeman yelling his name from outside but did not respond ‘‘because I just wanted to be by myself’’.

The man came inside and grabbed him by the neck, gripping it for between 10 and 30 seconds and asking him it he was deaf, he said.

‘‘It just came as a shock that he just grabbed my neck suddenly.’’

He was then forced to stand up and pushed back towards the kitchen, the boy said.

Earlier, the policeman’s lawyer, Peter Coles, told the jury his client acknowledged taking hold of the boy, but his defence was that he believed he was in ‘‘real trouble’’ in an emergency medical sense.

As someone with training in how to deal with emergencies, his client believed he had carried out

‘It just came as a shock that he just grabbed my neck suddenly.’ Alleged victim

a ‘‘proper response’’ Coles said.

‘‘I’m putting it to you that what you are telling us about the manner by which [the accused] . . . grabbed you by the neck is not true,’’ Coles said to the boy during cross-examination. ‘‘It is true,’’ the boy said. The boy’s older brother told the court he found him in his room on the day in question ‘‘bawling his eyes out’’ but could not get him to explain what was wrong.

Further prosecution witnesses are due to testify in the case today

and Coles said the defence would also call witnesses.

The trial is before Judge Geoff Rea and a jury of six men and six women.

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