Two police officers charged for pub brawl with NRL star
The two police officers involved in a brawl with 25-year-old Canberra Raiders hooker Tom Starling are now facing assault charges.
The fight at the Shady Palms bar in Kincumber occurred in December 2020 and saw Starling charged initially.
He was cleared in February last year, after a court found police were not acting within their duty when they punched him.
CCTV vision shows Starling restrained and being punched multiple times.
A 49-year-old senior constable and a 37-year-old male sergeant were both charged, the former with common assault and the latter with two counts of common assault. Their employment is now under review.
Starling welcomed the charges, which could help his compensation claim.
"It's a pretty full-on video and obviously anyone with two eyes can see the police were definitely in the wrong there," he told Sydney radio 2GB on Wednesday.
"It's been shown in court it was more of a street brawl and police not acting in their line of duty.
"I'd hate to see someone go through what me and my family have been put through - the emotional and financial pressure it puts on people."
Starling was initially charged with assaulting four officers before the charges were dropped. His two brothers Jackson and Josh were also charged, along with two friends.
They were celebrating a friend's 21st birthday.
Josh Starling was arrested for allegedly pushing security guard Khan Morris, however footage showed him becoming enraged only after he reacted to Morris’ slur about his mother.
While the magistrate accepted the circumstances, Josh was still found guilty common assault and resisting police and was sentenced to an 18-month conditional release order without conviction.
Tom Starling's lawyer Samar Singh-Panwar said civil compensation proceedings were underway.
"Both Tom Starling and his brother Jackson Starling have requested NSW Police reimburse at least some of their costs of the criminal law proceedings for which they were acquitted and police have now themselves been charged for," he said.
"Police have at this stage declined to pay any of those costs.
"This stance has caused the Starling family significant financial hardship."
Jonathan Jackson, 25th January 2024
