Officers plead not guilty

Judge Gordon Lerve yesterday did not rule out moving the case to Sydney in the future, as the two men appeared in court for their arraignment.

Constable Carl Giusti and Senior Constable Frank Shields both face two charges relating to an alleged incident that started at Wellington Skate Park last year.

Dressed in suits, they stood as the indictment was read on their first appearance in district court.

The indictment read that on August 7 at Wellington while in the company of each other Giusti and Shields had detained the complainant with intent to gain advantage and further, had assaulted him causing actual bodily harm.

Giusti and then Shields offered pleas of not guilty as each charge was read.

Before the arraignment the Crown prosecutor raised the possibility of the trial moving to Sydney.

Shields had been in Wellington for some time and that could pose difficulties with a jury, he said.

The prosecutor referred to a case in 2001 involving a sergeant at Wellington.

Judge Lerve told the Crown prosecutor he would consider any application “on its merits”.

“I’m not saying no to a change of venue, I’m just saying no today,” he said.

While the Crown and the defence disputed the facts in the case, yesterday they agreed the trial was likely to take more than two weeks.

Judge Lerve set the trial for November 26 and the arraignment was finished in no more than 15 minutes.

He continued bail for both the accused, who left the courtroom after collecting their forms from the sheriff.

It is alleged that Giusti and Shields approached a teenage boy at the skate park, before placing him in a headlock, forcing him into a marked caged police truck and taking him to another area where the boy was further assaulted.

The incident was reported to police after the boy was dropped off at a relative’s home.

Orana Local Area Command and the Professional Standards Command investigated and charges were laid within days against Giusti and Shields, then aged 42 and 43 respectively.

Both officers were suspended from the police force but remained on full pay.

The matter was heard at Dubbo Local Court, where in April they were committed to trial.