The New South Wales police commissioner, Mick Fuller, has expressed sympathy for officers who handcuffed, tasered, and capsicum-sprayed NRL player Curtis Scott while he was unconscious during an arrest described by a magistrate as 'unlawful'. Scott, a centre for the Canberra Raiders, plans to sue the police for more than $100,000 in damages over the incident, which occurred on Australia Day weekend this year.
Scott was charged with seven offences after falling asleep in Moore Park following a night out at Sydney’s Ivy nightclub. The charges included resisting arrest and assaulting police. However, most charges were dismissed during a court hearing last week after body camera footage showed officers handcuffing Scott while he lay at the base of a tree, barely conscious and disorientated, and telling him 'don't resist'. The footage then showed officers using capsicum spray and a taser as Scott became increasingly distressed.
Magistrate Jennifer Giles described the arrest as 'unlawful' and said the police argument that they were entitled to handcuff Scott was 'a very long and frightening bow'. Five of the original seven charges were withdrawn, and no conviction was recorded for two charges of offensive behaviour. Despite this, Fuller defended the officers in a radio interview, saying he was 'sympathetic' to police who deal with 'drunken idiots every night'. He argued that the footage needed to be seen in full context and that officers had limited options to remove an intoxicated person from a public place.
Fuller suggested alternatives such as using a baton to move Scott, which he said would be 'no less painful' than being sprayed. He added that police could not leave him there due to liability concerns. The NRL fined Scott $15,000, suspended, for bringing the game into disrepute, with chairman Peter V’landys calling the arrest 'very disturbing'. Under NSW police guidelines, tasers should only be used to protect life, prevent bodily harm, or during violent confrontations, but officers have previously faced criticism for using them as a compliance tool.
