A drunk Brisbane man was shot twice by police after he picked up an officer and shoved his head through a glass window to avoid being arrested following a rowdy three-day party.
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Morris Steven Mickelo failed to overturn his conviction for unlawfully wounding Constable Reece Jarman and wilfully obstructing Constable Samantha Schofield as they tried to shut down an out-of-control party in Capalaba in April 2014.
He was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment on February 2017 but will be eligible for parole on April 28, 2019.
The court heard police received reports from neighbours of yelling and screaming coming from a two-storey unit in Denison Court and suspected domestic violence might be taking place.
When officers arrived, they found Mr Mickelo drunk and swaying and a woman, Eleanor Webb, sweeping up glass from a broken fanlight on the first floor of the unit.
On the upstairs level, police saw another man and a blood-stained young woman, Deanna Airey, stumble out of a bedroom wardrobe, both of whom complied with the officers’ instructions.
As Constable Schofield started questioning Ms Airey on the staircase, she realised Mr Mickelo was walking up the stairs behind them and was trying to push past her.
The officer told the court she had to tell him to go back downstairs nine times before he complied.
But a violent scuffle broke out after Constable Jarman tried to handcuff Mr Mickelo after he refused to sit down on the lounge.
As Mr Mickelo grabbed Constable Jarman and threw him up against a wall, Constable Schofield tried to deploy her Taser on him, which didn’t work.
“I saw Constable Jarman starting to become really limp and dazed and … I was starting to think he’s going to be at risk of serious injury now,” Constable Schofield told the court.
“He’s either going to be knocked out or have some sort of permanent injury … like a broken bone or a concussion.”
She was considering reloading her Taser and using it again when she saw Mr Mickelo pick up Constable Jarman and put his shoulder and head through a window, shattering the glass in the process.
Fearing for her colleague’s life, Constable Schofield shot Mr Mickelo twice with her service pistol.
The Appeal Court rejected claims by Mr Mickelo that his handcuffing was not justified, and that the degree of force was unlawful.
In delivering the judgment, Justice Peter Flanagan said Constable Jarman was acting under lawful authority when he tried to handcuff Mr Mickelo, and there was a proper basis for the original trial jury to be satisfied that his actions were justified.
“The three grounds of appeal fail. I would order that the appeal be dismissed,” Justice Flanagan said.
