A police officer who chased down and Tasered a clubgoer has defended his actions, saying he deployed the weapon because he feared the man he repeatedly called "f---head" was going to "bash my head in".
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But reveller Mason Craig's lawyer has argued the officer used his Taser "in anger" during an unlawful arrest, labelling the incident "a clear act of police brutality".
Prosecutor Ellen Riley on Monday told the ACT Magistrates Court the relevant events occurred in the early hours of August 9, 2020.
She said police had approached Mr Craig as he tried to go back into Fiction nightclub in Civic despite having earlier been kicked out.
Video recorded by officers' body-worn cameras outside the venue shows one of them reach out and grab Mr Craig, who breaks away and runs down Bunda Street.
Mr Craig slips and falls outside the Gus' Place cafe, where "a violent struggle" with police ensues and the 26-year-old screams as he is Tasered multiple times and told to "roll over, f---head".
Mr Craig is also sprayed in the face with capsicum spray as officers effect his arrest.
He has since pleaded not guilty to two counts of resisting police, as well as single charges of assaulting a frontline community service provider and remaining in or near a licensed premises after being ejected.
Giving evidence in a hearing on Monday and Tuesday, First Constable Michael Witteveen said he had first noticed Mr Craig when another officer pointed him out and suggested the man was "going to be trouble".
He told the court a Fiction security guard attracted the attention of police and explained that Mr Craig was hanging around despite having been told to go.
The officer said he told Mr Craig to leave but the 26-year-old replied, "F--- you, Motorola", referring to the brand of police radio the first constable was carrying.
First Constable Witteveen said he put his hand on Mr Craig, then chased him after the man "whacked" it away and ran.
He described what happened after Mr Craig fell over and he caught up as "the most scary experience" of his policing career.
The officer told the court the 26-year-old "actively attacked" him with a tackle while getting back to his feet.
"I thought his intention was to get on top of me and bash my head in," he said.
The officer said he applied his Taser's drive stun in order to take Mr Craig into custody, claiming the man was "thrashing around" and kicking other police officers who had arrived to assist.
But defence lawyer Michael Kukulies-Smith suggested Mr Craig did not tackle First Constable Witteveen, saying his client had merely braced after slipping in the knowledge the officer was going to collide with him.
The officer rejected that claim, saying he had "played rugby for many years".
"I've been tackled many times and that was a classic rugby tackle," First Constable Witteveen said.
The officer also disagreed with the defence lawyer's suggestion that Mr Craig only flailed around on the ground because he was "being electrocuted by multiple Tasers".
"Well, he's not being electrocuted because that means he's dying," First Constable Witteveen replied.
He accepted it had been "unprofessional" to call Mr Craig a "f---head" during the arrest, but he said the Australian Federal Police was "pretty accepting of harsh words being spoken under these circumstances".
First Constable Witteveen denied acting to achieve "retribution" after Mr Craig swore at him.
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A number of other police officers also gave evidence.
Following their testimony, Mr Kukulies-Smith argued there was no case to answer regarding the failing to quit a licensed premises allegation.
He said the evidence in relation to the remaining charges should be excluded from the case because of the conduct of the police officers involved.
Mr Kukulies-Smith claimed there was "no power" that allowed First Constable Witteveen to grab Mr Craig at the start of the incident, meaning the 26-year-old was "perfectly entitled" to break free.
He said the man then "did exactly what he was told to" by heading away from the nightclub.
Mr Kukulies-Smith said what followed was "a gratuitous use of the Taser, made manifest in the use of the words we hear in the footage from First Constable Witteveen".
Ms Riley told the court she would file written submissions later this month.
Magistrate James Lawton said he planned to rule on the lawfulness of the police actions on August 10.
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