Latrell Mitchell and Jack Wighton’s Charges Dropped After Police Give False Evidence
The court has dropped charges against NRL stars, Latrell Mitchell and Jack Wighton, following the release of CCTV footage which shows their innocence. It also shows that police gave false evidence about Mitchell and Wighton.
Mitchell and Wighton are innocent
On Wednesday, the ACT Magistrates Court dismissed all charges against the two cousins after a shocking discovery. On Tuesday, a senior police officer admitted to giving false evidence in court.
Thankfully for the pair, footage from the night of the arrest saved the day. The recording shows the police arresting the athletes for no reason.
In February, the pair were out enjoying Mr Wighton’s 30th birthday with friends. On the night, Sergeant David Power ordered Mr Wighton out of the club. Power did so because he said he saw Wighton push and shove a man. Further, the sergeant said he looked angry and had clenched fists. His friends tried to talk to officers and explain to them that he was not being aggressive. They asked the police why they kicked him out.
Wighton and Mitchell charges
Police charged Wighton and Mitchell with fighting in a public place. In addition, they charged Mr Wighton with ignoring an exclusion order. On the other hand, police charged Mr Mitchell with affray and resisting police.
Police claimed that the two had a scuffle which encouraged the police to arrest the duo. However, Canberra Raiders Chief Executive, Don Furner, said police “targeted” them because of their NRL status.
CCTV Footage Was Vital to Case
Footage from the night in question showed Mr Mitchell outside the club. He shouted: “I’m Latrell Mitchell.” He was also crying out in pain whilst they handcuffed him. Mitchell also yelled: “Because I’m a blackfella?” and “I’ve done nothing wrong”.
Further, CCTV footage showed Mitchell following police’s orders to get on his knees. However, multiple officers still forced him onto the ground. In addition, officers were on his back attempting to restrain him.
Proud Indigenous Men
The two men are proud Indigenous men. Further, Mr Mitchell’s solicitor, Tom Taylor, stated:
“Indigenous people are 17 times more likely to be arrested than non-Indigenous people. In 2021, Indigenous adults went to prison at 14 times the rate of non-Indigenous adults.”
However, their team said the police targeted them because of their NRL status only.
Mitchell and Wighton case
Initially, Mr Wighton was given an exclusion notice from the club. The court viewed recordings from the police’s body-word video cameras. Initially, Sergeant Power said the incident happened when Mr Wighton was out of sight for a moment.
However, they showed Sergeant Power a series of CCTV from the night. It showed significant holes in the police’s description of what happened that night. Basically, nothing happened in the club.
He admitted that his claims seemed inaccurate. He stated: “What I saw didn’t line up with the footage.”
The sergeant blamed it on a “memory issue”.
They accused the police of inventing the incident in an attempt to frame the two men. The sergeant denied this, saying he believed it was what happened. As a result, Mr Wighton received an apology from the sergeant outside of the court.
In the end, the court dropped all charges against Mitchell and Wighton. The Magistrate also ordered the ACT Policing to pay the legal fees for both men.
Now, it is likely that the pair will seek further legal action against the police for the stress they have endured over the past 10 months.
If you want to sue the police for an unlawful arrest, contact O’Brien Criminal and Civil Solicitors on (02) 9261 4281. We can set you up a free appointment with our highly experienced Civil Lawyers.
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Police Falsely Arrest Victim Of Vicious Assault, After He Calls 000.
Nicole Byrne
Content Creator | Media Coordinator
O'Brien Criminal & Civil Solicitors
www.obriensolicitors.com.au
