NSW Police officers who assaulted Canberra Raiders star Tom Starling facing action

Lawyer Samar Singh-Panwar went on to call for the police to compensate Starling's family for legal fees that could force them to sell their home.

NSW Police confirmed they've launched an investigation into the police officers involved in the incident at a Central Coast pub on December 5, 2020.

They initially hit Starling with seven charges, including assaulting police, before magistrate Daniel Covington cleared the Raiders hooker of all of them.

Covington went on to say Starling had been the one "assaulted" - by police.

CCTV footage showed police repeatedly punching Starling.

"Tom Starling and his family are at a loss as to why 'investigators are continuing to conduct inquiries', when they have been in possession of the evidence for over two years, and two separate magistrates have found that Tom was assaulted by police," Singh-Panwar told The Canberra Times.

"Given the clear wrongdoing by NSW Police, the decent thing for the police to now do would be to make an offer to compensate the Starling family for their legal costs and their other losses.

"If they don't, the police are potentially putting them through many more years of legal proceedings and financial hardship.

"How many more times do the police expect Tom Starling and his brothers to be vindicated by the courts?"

Starling opened up on the incident on Wednesday, saying his family might have to sell their home to cover legal fees.

The 25-year-old was celebrating a mate's 21^st birthday at the time, but ended the night in custody.

His two brothers Jackson and Josh, and friend Jesse Byrne, were also involved in the incident, which started when a security guard called Starling's mother a "slut".

Starling was later descended upon by police and repeatedly punched when trying to leave the venue.

"An apology's nice, that's the fluffy stuff, but I want action taken against the police involved," he said on 2GB on Wednesday.

"It's been a long time coming. They were still working all this time. It was hard to hear they were still out there in the streets and supposedly protecting people.

"It's good to hear they're now finally getting brought to justice and have to face the actions they've done."

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NSW Police confirmed they were investigating the officers involved.

"Investigators from Professional Standards Command are continuing to conduct inquiries in relation to the conduct of officers responding to an incident on the Central Coast on Saturday, 5 December, 2020," a police spokesperson said.

"As their inquiries are ongoing, no further information is available."

The Starling family have struggled with the mounting legal fees and they might be forced to sell their home.

Starling said it had also taken a heavy toll on them emotionally, with his father suffering a stroke recently.

"It's pretty upsetting to see. It's changed my family forever, financially and emotionally," he said.

"I don't think we'll ever be the same after the events that happened that night.

"The other people in attendance have changed their views on what the NSW Police can do.

"It's been tough on my Mum and Dad - my Dad had a stroke not long ago. I can't put it down to that, but I think the stresses of it all played a factor in that.

"We might need to sell the family house that we grew up in to keep paying these legal fees. We're trying our best to get our way through."

Starling said the incident all stemmed from a security guard abusing his mother.

His brother confronted the security guard and was subsequently arrested, with Starling mindful to keep his distance.

Then when the party ended and Starling was leaving the venue he was set upon and repeatedly punched.

It wasn't until afterwards that he found out those punches were thrown by police. He still doesn't know why.

"I was told the party was over by a security guard, everyone started making their way out to the exit and I exited this staged sitting area, and as I exited the stage I was coward punched in the back of the head by - I wasn't aware of who it was at the time," Starling said.

"Then my head was pushed down, I was upper-cutted a few more times .... hit a few more times and I was unconscious.

"I definitely did not grab the officer's gun.

"I was just getting assaulted left, right and centre, punches coming towards me. I had no idea what was happening."

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