Two Canberra police officers were found guilty on Friday of assaulting a teenager during a routine traffic stop in Civic, in which one of the officers threatened to search the teenager for "being a smart arse" before swearing at him to get the "f--k out of the car".
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The incident centred around a shocking video of the assault filmed by one of the passengers on her phone. The court has refused to release the video to the public.
The ACT Magistrates Court heard the two police officers, who had pulled over the driver after he drove through the Civic bus interchange late on January 26 last year, swear at the 19-year-old passenger.
The driver told the court that because there was a taxi rank on turning left onto London Circuit, he did not immediately pull over, but waved to the police car that he was heading for the Mooseheads car park across the road.
Senior Constable Matthew McVicar, 35, and Constable James Head, 29, approached the car, before the interaction quickly escalated.
On the video played to court, Head says he'll search the back seat passenger for "being a smart arse" before swearing at him to "get the f--k out of the car".
McVicar becomes involved and the two grab the teenager in a head lock and drag him from the car before cuffing him face down on the ground.
There were never charges laid against the driver or passenger, but after an internal investigation McVicar and Head were charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm. They have been suspended from duties.
They pleaded not guilty to the alleged assault, arguing they were acting in the execution of their duty.
But on Friday, Magistrate Robert Cook found the pair guilty of a lesser charge of common assault and not assault causing actual bodily harm, because of the superficial nature of the teenager's injuries.
He said the force used was "highly excessive".
The magistrate found the officers had no legal justification to use force.
He observed how the officers gave the teenager mere seconds to respond to directions, and said the video showed that at no time did the teenager appear to resist his arrest or hinder police.
The magistrate described the incident as "over the top".
Mr Cook also said he had no doubt about the complexities and difficulty of day-to-day policing. And he said the pair, nearing the end of a long Australia Day shift, would have been tried and tested that day.
But that did not absolve them of their obligation to act lawfully, he said.
The case returns to court on July 10 for sentence.
