After unlawfully arresting and assaulting a woman, a NSW senior constable said he and his partner would be fine as long as they "keep to the story", a prosecutor alleges.
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Senior Constable Mark Anthony Follington, 61, has pleaded not guilty to five charges including evidence tampering after the May 2019 arrest in the southwest Sydney suburb of Liverpool.
Prosecutor Claire Robinson told a Sydney local court on Monday that Follington spoke to his junior partner the night of the arrest about the potential of the woman's phone data being downloaded.
"This is good for us. We will be fine as long as we keep to the story," the prosecutor quoted Follington as saying.
Follington is accused of twice assaulting Anya Bradford, who'd been asked for her ID in the gaming room of the Golden Fleece Hotel, and then falsely accusing her of assaulting him and resisting arrest.
Primarily based on Follington's account, Ms Bradford was charged and spent a night in custody.
Ms Bradford had been passing time in the pub before a 2pm appointment when Follington and his partner walked in and asked for identification, the court was told.
She told them she didn't have any and made her way towards the door.
CCTV shows Follington grab her arm, leading to a scuffle in which the Crown alleges the officer shoved the woman's head into an ATM.
Ms Bradford was tasered twice by the junior officer as she ran out the door to the Liverpool Community Corrections Office building foyer.
Follington pulled Ms Bradford out of the building's lift, propelling her into the opposite wall, the Downing Centre Local Court heard.
He then pushed his forearm under her jaw after she was handcuffed and brought to her feet, Ms Robinson said.
The senior constable allegedly later authored a false narrative on the internal police database and in court documents that claimed Ms Bradford initiated contact in the pub's gaming room by pushing him and causing him to lose balance.
"It is the crown case that this assault never occurred," Ms Robinson said.
Senior police later reviewed the material in the case and advised Ms Bradford's charges be dismissed.
The police force's professional standards command began investigating Follington within weeks and charged him in November.
He faces charges of tampering with evidence with intent to mislead a judicial tribunal, doing an act intending to pervert the course of justice and modifying restricted data held in computer, and two counts of common assault.
Giving evidence on Monday, Ms Bradford said she felt "intimidated and ... in fear for my safety" as she was pursued down the street.
"I knew they wanted my ID and I'd already told them I didn't have my ID and they said 'OK' and walked away," she said.
Cross-examined by barrister Ray Hood, she denied exaggerating her account but conceded some of her recollections were incorrect.
The incident had been traumatic and she'd had a sleepless Sunday night, she told the court.
The hearing before magistrate Michael Crompton resumes Tuesday.
Australian Associated Press
