Robert Stephen James Elphick: Albany man spared jail after being found guilty of assaulting police officer

An Albany man accused of assaulting an off-duty police officer, who was responding to a report of domestic violence, has been found guilty despite claiming he was the victim of a brutal and unprovoked attack. Robert Stephen James Elphick, 33, went to trial in Albany Magistrates Court earlier this month after pleading not guilty to assaulting a public officer. In court on Friday, Magistrate Dianne Scaddan said the prosecution had proven its case and found Elphick guilty of the assault. Ms Scaddan sentenced Elphick to a 12-month jail term, suspended for 12 months. The magistrate found that Elphick did punch and throttle Albany police officer Aaron Liron on the side of Lancaster Road in McKail on the afternoon of Friday, August 13 last year. Ms Scaddan found Elphick guilty of lunging at Mr Liron and trying to strangle him after realising he was a police officer. She said the evidence from five prosecution witnesses proved that Elphick was aware Mr Liron was a police officer and that he did assault him because of his identity. “The only inference that can be drawn is the accused assaulted Mr Liron in response to him identifying himself as a police officer,” she said. However, it was Elphick who was seriously injured in the altercation. Elphick needed emergency surgery to relieve pressure around his eye before he was flown to Perth by the Royal Flying Doctor Service. He later had a metal plate inserted around his eye. Mr Liron, who says he acted in self-defence, had bruising and reddening to his head. Mr Liron was driving along Lancaster Road on August 13 with his partner when at least one young child waved them down. A child came over to Mr Liron’s car and told him: “Dad is choking Mum, please help”. Despite Elphick’s partner of 12 years, Tracy Bell, assuring Mr Liron everything was OK, he was not convinced and wanted to make sure the vehicle’s occupants were safe. Mr Liron approached Ms Bell’s parked vehicle and Elphick emerged, so he told him: “I’m a cop, stay calm”. In response, Elphick said: “Oh, you’re a f...ing copper, are you?” Before Mr Liron had time to produce identification, Elphick lunged at him, grabbing his throat with one hand and punching him in the face with the other. The pair then fell into a ditch and continued to grapple while Elphick’s hands were still around the officer’s neck, restricting his breathing. Prior to the assault, Ms Bell and Elphick had an argument in the car after she had picked him up from a function. Elphick tapped his partner on the shoulder to let her know he would walk the rest of the way home but he accidentally grabbed her hair. In court on Friday, Ms Scaddan said Ms Bell and Elphick had both “downplayed what happened in the car” in their evidence during trial. “The accused and Ms Bell downplayed the pulling of her hair, clearly it was a big deal, Ms Bell was concerned enough that she pulled over for safety reasons,” she said. “It was concerning enough that a child got out of the car onto the road, flagged a car down and asked a stranger for help.” “What occurred in the car was not as benign as Ms Bell and the accused said it was.” Ms Scaddan said Elphick “understated the evidence unfavourable towards him”. She did not believe Elphick was a “credible or reliable witness” and didn’t accept his version of events. Ms Scaddan said Mr Liron was a “frank” witness whose evidence was consistent with that of his now-former partner and two other police officers who attended the scene after the incident. In her sentencing remarks, Ms Scaddan said it would have been “surprising” if Mr Liron had ignored the child’s request for help. “He was going to check the welfare of the people in the car...the bare minimum of what the public would expect an off-duty police officer to do, it was a reasonable expectation,” she said. “The court has a role to protect police officers, (the assault) was an insult on the officer and an insult on the community at large.” Police prosecutor Sgt Alan Dean said there was an unwritten expectation that off-duty police officers would help members of the public. While Sgt Dean said it was a serious assault, he accepted that a term of imprisonment was not the only sentencing option. “There are obvious treatment needs to address alcohol issues,” he said. Defence lawyer Bruno Illari said his client had “moderated” his drinking since. Elphick, who maintained during the trial he was not drunk, returned a blood alcohol level of 0.205 following the incident. Mr Illari said Elphick was receiving ongoing treatment from his injuries. Outside of court, Elphick continued to deny his actions. “It didn’t go the way I wanted,” he said. “One concern is that I don’t understand why The Albany Advertiser would put in things domestic violence-related when it was pretty clear to the court that it didn’t happen.”