Man sues police after violent fracas outside Wagga pub
A man who was evicted from a Wagga pub is suing police for severe injuries after he was shoved onto the busy Sturt Highway.
Tetaan Henning was outside the William Farrer Hotel in Wagga Wagga following his eviction. A discussion with police then turned violent, with Henning suffering a compound fracture to his arm.
Footage shows Henning speaking with police before one office pushed him towards the road and then onto the road, before dumping him on the footpath. Henning snapped his right arm and the forearm bone protruded through his skin.
Police laid four charges against the 43-year-old for assaulting police, however on viewing the footage Wagga Wagga Local Court Magistrate Chris Halburd dismissed the charges.
“That is a busy highway and the officer is lucky he did not kill my client by pushing him into the path of a truck,” Henning’s lawyer Paul McGirr said. “And couple this with the fact that the officer has severely injured my client and then somehow reasons that he had cause to charge him with assaulting police.”
Henning was in the pub having dinner with his partner and catching up with friends, including Matthew McMahon, who himself was evicted from the pub and the accused of interfering with a sniffer dog.
McMahon was also charged with failing to leave the pub, however the case was withdrawn after CCTV footage showed he had not interfered with the dog.
Henning was thrown out when he asked officers why they were removing McMahon from the pub, stating his friend has a brain injury.
It was five months before Henning was charged with hindering police, being an intoxicated person who refused to leave a venue and using offensive language.
The charge of hindering police was thrown out when it was revealed Henning had not come into contact with the officer named in court papers. There was also no evidence henning had been drinking.
The court heard the officer who pushed Henning did not follow correct police procedures by issuing a move-on order before using force.
Both Henning and McMahon are planning civil cases against the state.
“It’s like the wild west of Wagga Wagga,” McGirr said. “It’s disgraceful behaviour and it always starts from the top.”
The case returns to court on May 5 2023, where Mr McGirr will argue for the state to pay his client’s legal costs.
Irit Jackson, 4th April 2023
