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.