Police refuse to hand over notebooks in bikie brawl trial
- Greg Stolz
- The Courier-Mail
- May 11, 2015 8:08AM
Lawyers for Bandidos bikie gang member and accused rioter Peter Mauric have hit Police Commissioner Ian Stewart and 86 officers with summonses for their notebooks and other material relating to the September 2013 brawl at Broadbeach, which sparked the state’s tough
anti-bikie laws.
But Southport Magistrates Court heard today that only five officers had provided notebooks and other material.
Barrister Craig Capper, for Mr Stewart, told the court that the summons for material from the other 81 officers was a ‘fishing expedition’.
He said the defence wanted about 600 notebooks covering the last two years, despite them containing no entries relating to the brawl.
Mr Capper said the defence request was ‘oppressive’ and ‘completely irrelevant’.
“All records, all notebooks, all entries that relate to this incident have been provided,’’ he told Southport Magistrates Court.
Magistrate Michael Quinn adjourned the application to set aside the summons until tomorrow but in the meantime ordered police to produce notebook extracts relating to the date of the brawl.
He formally directed that Mr Stewart ‘will make available all resources to ensure that it (the production of notebook entries) is complied with fully and as quickly as possible’.
EARLIER: Police are refusing to release their notebooks for the Gold Coast bikie brawl trial.
Lawyers for Bandidos bikie gang member and accused rioter Peter Mauric have hit Police Commissioner Ian Stewart and 86 officers with summonses for the notebooks and other material relating to the September 2013 brawl at Broadbeach, which sparked the state’s tough anti-bikie laws.
But Southport Magistrates Court heard today that only five officers were willing to provide notebooks and other material.
Barrister Craig Capper, for Mr Stewart, told the court that the summons for material from the other 81 officers was a “fishing expedition”.
He said the defence wanted about 600 notebooks covering the last two years, despite them containing no entries relating to the brawl.
Mr Capper said the defence request was “oppressive” and “completely irrelevant”.
Defence barrister Geoff Foster has asked for time to prepare for submissions.
Last week, Mr Foster unsuccessfully sought to have magistrate Michael Quinn removed for “perceived bias”.
Also in court today, the only female cop on the scene at the start of the infamous Gold Coast bikie brawl has told of her terror at being confronted by a wall of ‘extremely angry’ bikies.
Constable Annelise Young was among only a handful of police on the scene when the brawl erupted outside the Aura Tapas and Lounge Bar at Broadbeach on September 27, 2013.
The petite officer told Southport Magistrates Court today that she and her male colleagues were “outnumbered (and) surrounded” by about 60 aggressive Bandidos bikie gang members, screaming abuse.
“They were swearing and carrying on and puffing out their chests,” Const. Young told the court.
“They were extremely angry and yelling out profanities like ‘pig c ...’.
“I felt surrounded; I didn’t feel comfortable whatsoever.”
Const. Young used her taser on the largest of the bikies, Bandidos Gold Coast president Adam ‘Bigg Whitey’ White, who was fighting with another man on the ground.
She said as she reloaded her taser, out of the corner of her eye she saw ‘a large group of Bandidos were coming from behind us’.
Mr Foster suggested police were not surrounded for long and that some of the bikies were not displaying aggression.
“All the men in front of me were trying to be as intimidating as possible,” Const. Young responded.
Bandido Peter Mauric, 45, is standing trial for rioting over the brawl after pleading not guilty.