A NSW Police superintendent has defended the actions of a Queanbeyan highway patrol officer who pulled a gun on a suspected drink-driver.
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The driver's lawyer is pushing for the senior constable to face charges, lodging a formal complaint with police on grounds he used unnecessary force, hadn't logged the incident properly and failed to reveal the full truth of the arrest in court.
Dramatic police dash cam footage revealed by Fairfax Media last month shows Senior Constable Steven Hilhorst running towards the driver's side window with his firearm drawn and pointing it at the driver's head at Harman in the ACT after a short pursuit.
He tapped the driver's side window twice with the gun before the man got out of the car in surrender and laid down as the police officer holstered his gun, kneed him forcefully in the back as he handcuffed him, and then punched him in the back.
Footage of the January 2015 arrest aired at a hearing of the man's drink-driving charge in the ACT Magistrates Court last month.
That charge was later dropped on a technicality after it emerged the driver had been breath-tested with a device that wasn't approved in the ACT.
A NSW Police spokeswoman confirmed it was looking into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
In a letter written for a separate court matter, Monaro police commander Superintendent Rod Smith said an initial internal review had made no adverse finding against Senior Constable Hilhorst for use of excessive force.
He said in the letter, dated July 15, the "short snippet" of dash cam footage revealed publicly showed only a small portion of the incident.
"I can confirm that shortly after the incident, a debrief was conducted by an inspector of the Monaro local area command.
"There was nothing identified during this pursuit debrief that was adverse to Senior Constable Hilhorst or any other officer.
"I can also confirm that this pursuit was subject of a review by the Monaro Safe Driver Panel, which is standard practice.
"Again, the panel found nothing adverse against Senior Constable Hilhorst."
He said Senior Constable Hilhorst was a "highly competent officer with an exemplary record" and indicated police would consider appealing the court's decision.
But his comments did little to allay concerns held by the driver's solicitor, Adrian McKenna, a senior associate with Ben Aulich and Associates, who said his client had surrendered during the arrest.
In complaints lodged with NSW and federal police, Mr McKenna said the police officer's use of the gun and physical force were unnecessary and "clearly assaults of my client".
Mr McKenna cited Senior Constable Hilhorst's "untruthful" evidence about the lighting of the area where the cars stopped, his refusal to tell the whole story of the arrest and failure to make a use of force entry in the COPS database.
He complained the officer didn't log the use of the pistol in the system, which is required under police guidelines, or mention it to officers who attended the scene or in his initial court evidence.
"I am very concerned, not only by Senior Constable Hilhorst's conduct, but also his lack of understanding that his conduct was unnecessary and wrong, as demonstrated by the evidence he gave in court," Mr McKenna said.
"The officer's conduct not only risks bringing the NSW Police force into disrepute, but also amounts to criminal acts."
NSW Police told Mr McKenna it would handle the "non-criminal aspects" of his complaint, but any potential criminal investigation would need to be handled by federal police, given the incident took place in the ACT.
