Tears of relief overflowed in the public gallery of Dubbo District Court after two
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police officers were found not guilty of charges against them in a trial.
Constable Frank Shields cried with his wife as he held his infant child, while
Senior Constable Carl Giusti simply thanked his supporters.
Yesterday was two years and a day since an alleged incident in Wellington had put
the lives of Constable Frank Shields and Senior Constable Carl Giusti on hold.
A 14-year-old boy reported to police on Sunday, August 7, 2011, that he was
placed into a headlock at Wellington’s skate park before being pushed into a
police truck, taken to the side of a river and assaulted.
Shields and Giusti had both pleaded not guilty to charges of taking/detaining in
company with intent to gain advantage and assault occasioning actual bodily
harm.
Twelve days of evidence presented by the Crown prosecutor and defence included
29 civilian and 18 police witnesses who took to the stand.
On day 13, it took just two hours of deliberations for the jury to come to a decision.
They entered deliberations mid-morning after Judge Gordon Lerve summarised the
overall proceedings.
He broke down the elements of both charges, reminding the jury all must be
proven beyond reasonable doubt by the prosecution for a guilty verdict.
The judge then detailed the central incident as described by the complainant,
Shields and Giusti, and the cases of the Crown and defence.
Soon after, the group made two requeststo assist deliberations.
Jury members were handed a written document outlining some of their responsibilities
as judges of the facts.
Some of the original police interview from the complainant was then replayed
in open court before the lunch break.
When court resumed, Judge Lerve was notified the jury had reached its verdict
and the rest of the evidence was no longer required.
As the verdicts for each charge were read, a choked sigh of relief was heard
from the gallery.
After the judge discharged them,Shields verbally thanked the jury before
Giusti waved in acknowledgement.
Shields later gave Giusti a prolonged handgrip before exiting the courtroom.
Judge Lerve thanked the jury and council for their good handling of the complicated trial.