Family 'disgusted' as police attackers acquitted

Family 'disgusted' as police attackers acquitted

news.ninemsn.com.au

The family of a police officer left partially paralysed after a violent fight is "disgusted" after his attackers were acquitted of assault by a Perth jury.

Constable Matthew Butcher suffered brain damage from the fight, which left one side of his body paralysed and damaged his eyesight, the West Australian newspaper reports.

Defendants Robert McLeod, 56, and his two sons Barry and Scott James McLeod, 29 and 35, were found not guilty on eight charges after the fight at the Old Bailey Tavern at Joodalup in February last year.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Well I guess a lot of you police haters out there will be pleased, I personally feel it's disgusting that these guys got let off.

the guy who headbutted Constable Matthew Butcher claims he did it because his father had a heart condition and he was afraid he was going to die because he was being tasered.

This is obviously a question the jury didn't think to ask, if this old man had a heart condition, why was he out there fighting?

You would think he would know better.

Anyway watch the video of the headbutt that's now just been released and make your own judgment.






news.ninemsn.com.au
(visit the link for the full news article)

Well I guess a lot of you police haters out there will be pleased, I personally feel it's disgusting that these guys got let off.

Most ``police haters`` as you call them hate the scum who beat up 14 years old girls, the police who protects the scum within their own forces and those who spit on the constitution.

Just a case today: A police officer was found not guilty of assault even when there was 2 witness to the beat up.

And a case that is very common: the police beats you up and then charges you with attacking a police officer

However, I agree with you that this case is disgusting. But come on, there's a lot of scum in the US police forces. Most of them are just legal gangmembers. Dealing drugs and beating people up.

[edit on 13-3-2009 by Vitchilo]

reply to post by Vitchilo




I did say most police haters, not all.

I say that because there are a few who label ALL police as being corrupt and bad.

Obviously there are going to be bad eggs out there, there's no doubt about that, but this specific case has all kinds of wrong about it.

Nice tackle!

All I can see is a small portion of a fight where the police seem to out number the rest and the head butt appeared to be a guy protecting someone from the policeman that went down.

In the U.S. where police are protected like pharaohs they probably would of just gunned them down and said they felt threatened and the courts probably would of agreed.

I assume they were acquitted because the jury saw enough information to make that decision and I don't have enough to second guess them.

Somebody was bullying somebody else and he got his head knocked in. Big deal you play with fire you might get burned. If it was the other way around I'm sure the result would of been the same.



[edit on 13-3-2009 by verylowfrequency]

More on the story:

www.abc.net.au...

He told the court the three men were attempting to break up a fight outside the Joondalup Tavern in February last year when Barry McLeod was attacked by police.
He said Constable Matthew Butcher pulled Barry McLeod's t-shirt over his head while another officer struck him.
He said he punched Constable Butcher to the stomach two or three times in order to free his son.
Moments later Constable Butcher fired a Taser at Robert McLeod, who then suffered a heart attack.

Mr McLeod has conceded that at the time he was very annoyed at the police, who he claims assaulted his son for no reason.

www.abc.net.au...

A 29-year-old man has told the District Court in Perth he was trying to save his father's life when he launched himself at a police officer outside a Joondalup tavern last year. Barry McLeod said he ran and threw himself at Constable Matthew Butcher who had just fired a stun gun at Mr McLeod's father. Police were trying to break up a brawl that involved Barry McLeod, his father and brother, and other patrons at the bar.

Hi All, long time lurker here, first time poster so be gentle with me! Thought it pertinent to begin by posting in a topic that is relevant to me as I live locally to the area this incident took place.

Regardless of personal opinion in this particular case, or your opinions of the police generally, this particular area of Perth is notorious for alcohol and other substance fuelled violence, drink spiking and random assault. This police officer sustained injuries which were excessive given the circumstances and a not guilty verdict sends the wrong message in this community.

Another pub in this area is called the Grand Boulevard Tavern (I believe its still there) which is locally known as the GBH due to the level of violence associated with it.

So yeah - unfortunately this verdict will do nothing except further entrench the reality that the unspoken culture of casual violence is acceptable in Western Australia.

I do not have enough information to judge if this was a just verdict or not. However, I will say this: expect more of these verdicts.

Police have refused to police themselves. Now, the public is doing the policing for them. It will be even worse when American juries start doing stuff like this.

The attackers are going to have a hard time in the future. Every time they get pulled up, their vehicles will be defected. They will certainly receive extra special attention from other officers. Police officers have long memories, and stick up for each other.

These guys really haven't "gotten off" anything. They would have been better off attacking a member of a motorcycle gang. At least then, they would have a chance at hiding.

reply to post by sir_chancealot


I hope to God this starts happening here in the states!! The police are corrupt where I live. There's a huge scandal with the now former police chief dubbed "Nuessegate" by the local media. Not to mention a recent media investigation of the police department found that there is no major representation of minorities among officers in the force >=(! We have a large minority community here (it's almost as bad as Detroit around here in certain parts. No, if you've been to Cedar Point, the "nice" parts are actually Perkins Township or the "main strips" which are the direct route to the amusement park Cedar Point. Go one block off the main road and you'll be surprised how run down this town actually is, even for supporting the "world's largest amusement park" )

Sandusky's "Nuessegate"

Also, caught this through Digg today, and this story is a tragedy. I've lived in Jackson county and yes, their officers are corrupt as well. I feel very sorry for the young man involved and hope this gets out to show the war on drugs is HARMING young people!

MLive link to article on unarmed GVSU student shot during police "drug raid" >=(

So, you know what? Maybe that cop deserved getting his butt handed to him. If police world over think they can use their "power" to go and do whatever the hell they want however the hell they want, they're wrong. I'm getting sick of seeing this crap daily. Tasers are KNOWN for being DEADLY, I'm glad his son knocked the crap out of the officer to save his dad's life! I would have done the same thing!

Edited for spelling!

[edit on 13-3-2009 by RcknShdw]

reply to post by RcknShdw



So you would hit a man from behind would you?



My hero.

Originally posted by Chadwickus


Well I guess a lot of you police haters out there will be pleased, I personally feel it's disgusting that these guys got let off.

Why start your thread off trying to alienate and antagonize members?

I think it is quite clear that the people that are upset with the actions of some of the corrupt officers out there have a legitimate reason to feel that way based on the cases that demonstrate abuse and the subsequent convictions of the abusing officers.

As far as this case goes, I have no idea why the attackers were not charged but perhaps there is more information there than we know at the time. It seems the defense team proved that the men were innocent of the charges. I can make a quick judgment of this case and say the police were in the right without being privy to all the facts, but that could just make me as rash as the "police haters" who conclude that the civilian was in the right without facts had the case been in the reverse.

It has been in the reverse by the way, like one of the cases in California where a man was crippled by officers and wrongfully still sent to prison. Only later was he released after that divisions brazen abuses came to light and all their past actions were reviewed. I have argued for both the police and the civilians at times since sometimes the officers didn't seem out of line to me, but it is all based on my opinions and what "seems" like the truth.

Some times justice fails us, sometimes it just looks like it does in the eye of the outsider.

I've read about a few cases in Australia where a decision was reached in court that astounded me but I am not sure this is one of them.

At the same time, anyone who celebrates the crippling of this man is a fool.

Even if he was using excessive force.

- Lee

reply to post by Chadwickus


In the heat of the moment in a fight and somebody has the better of one of your family members - yes I think most people would attempt to stop the threat if they could even if that means hitting them from behind.

Barry McLeod said he ran and threw himself at Constable Matthew Butcher

I don't know all the information around this case so it's hard to say for definite who's in the right/wrong but this Barry character has certainly lied in that statement. He did more than throw himself, it was a deliberate headbutt from behind - I was subjected to exactly the same type of attack many years ago.

A friend of the attacker was talking to me (purposefully distracting) when I heard what sounded like someone running... luckily I was uneasy of the situation anyway (something didn't seem right) and as he saw me turn he slowed a little and only managed to break my nose which required surgery later - I was also fortunate in the respect that he was not as big as the guy in the video.

I won't go into what happened afterwards but these kind of attacks are deliberately very dangerous and not just "throwing yourself" at someone, and on that basis I'd want to see Barry convicted of more than just assault unless there were some damn good mitigating factors.

[edit on 13-3-2009 by Goathief]

If it meant saving my father who was having a heart attack due to being TASERED, than yes. Yes I would. Family is the most important part of my life. Sounds like you would rather taser your own father along with the cops and let them get away with this kind of gross brutality.

I don't condone random acts of stupidity or violence, but are you telling me you would let the cops taser someone you loved and get away with it and not do anything to step in, regardless of the situation?

Open your eyes, the officials are getting more corrupt every day and using dumb excuses to do whatever they want.

Deny Ignorance, right?





[edit on 13-3-2009 by RcknShdw]

reply to post by Goathief


Care to explain your situation a little more? Something doesn't seem quite right about it. What did you do to prompt getting attacked? If it was set up like you claim, then obviously you must have done something to provoke the attack. Am I right?

Nope, just jealousy and to be honest it's not really appropriate for this forum (in this thread anyway).

Sorry, but what the hell is someone with a heart condition fighting police for anyway? He threw punches at police officers - what was he expecting to happen? It's not as if they are scrawny, defenceless innocents is it? They certainly know how to fight, and dirty at that.

I agree that there is a lot of police brutality that goes on below (I've witnessed it several times) and above the radar, but this case does not appear to follow that trend. What makes you think that the police were out of line in this video?

Originally posted by NuclearPaul
The attackers are going to have a hard time in the future. Every time they get pulled up, their vehicles will be defected. They will certainly receive extra special attention from other officers. Police officers have long memories, and stick up for each other.

These guys really haven't "gotten off" anything. They would have been better off attacking a member of a motorcycle gang. At least then, they would have a chance at hiding.

Do police want to get into contest like that with the general population? the reaction you describe proves that they will never look at themselves/learn their lesson. People just don't like cops, cause cops are regular people who think they are more than that. Not all, but way, way too many are just punks.

I'm in the Tim Hortons lineup yesterday, and i hear these two guys mumbling in the lineup behind me about some stuff. they talked about kicking guys asses and what they'd do to that guy and the like. This tim hortons is on the u of a campus...not a lot of criminals walking around.
the most important thing to me about the whole thing was the honest disappointment/(word of loss of an amount of hope) i felt when i realized that these were cops. I was expecting to see a couple of dirty contstruction workers or retarded rugby players. Nope. It was cops.

I can't possibly see how the kids being born now are going to be taught about cops in a positive light. I'll probably have a family in less than ten years, and my kids are definately going to give them the respect they deserve.

Originally posted by RcknShdw
If it meant saving my father who was having a heart attack due to being TASERED, than yes. Yes I would. Family is the most important part of my life. Sounds like you would rather taser your own father along with the cops and let them get away with this kind of gross brutality.

The issue of somebody being attacked due to tasering doesnt wash with me. You can stand and hold a person who is being tasered with no effect and the unit is designed to interrupt nerve signals for restraint purposes. Its possible I suppose that a person with a pre-existing condition may be affected however so far there does not seem to be any conclusive scientific research that indicates this.

It also begs the question - what was a man with a heart condition doing drinking and brawling in a pub? It would appear he did not have much regard for his own safety regardless of the use of a police device.
BTW - I'm not necessarily defending the police here, I was on the receiving end of some foul treatment by the law in the same area as a teenager. Its worth considering that the WA police were more dangerous 15-20 years ago than they are now, and not all police are corrupt. Simply - the man did not deserve such excessive violence perpetrated on him whilst doing his job. For our US counterparts commenting on this, with respect, the two countries police systems are not comparable. Many things such as population levels, culture, the particular isolation and demographic of this area would be unique in comparison to say suburban areas of any US city. Policing systems maybe similar in Western countries but are not implemented blanket style in those same countries. Not yet anyway

Originally posted by RcknShdw
If it meant saving my father who was having a heart attack due to being TASERED, than yes. Yes I would. Family is the most important part of my life. Sounds like you would rather taser your own father along with the cops and let them get away with this kind of gross brutality.

I don't condone random acts of stupidity or violence, but are you telling me you would let the cops taser someone you loved and get away with it and not do anything to step in, regardless of the situation?

Open your eyes, the officials are getting more corrupt every day and using dumb excuses to do whatever they want.

Deny Ignorance, right?

[edit on 13-3-2009 by RcknShdw]

The father didn't have a heart attack until after everything settled down, he got tasered because he was throwing punches on the cop. seems to me that is as good a reason as any to taser someone, don't you think?


You might also like to know, the government are looking to pass new laws that let people who attack police get mandatory sentencing, this has been brought on due to the amount of police that have been attacked in recent years.


It's being held up at the moment by two independents because they want to see ambulance officers on the list too.

Fair enough too.


On another related issue:

www.abc.net.au...

Perth police injured in brawl

Three police officers have been injured in a brawl involving members of the same family outside a bar in Perth.
Officers were called to a disturbance outside Carnegie's in Murray Street about midnight and became involved in an altercation with two brothers and other family members.
The three constables were taken to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital where they were treated for minor injuries.
They have since been released from hospital.
Three men have been charged with offences including assaulting a police officer.
A woman is facing one charge each of disorderly conduct and breaching a move on order.
All four have been released on bail and are due to appear in court next week.