Back in February, the man was drunk and driving through the Central station neighbourhood. The man had been speeding, driving through red lights, and driving in the wrong direction.
At the time of the events, the 31-year-old defendant was found with a blood alcohol content level of 2.2. On Tuesday morning, the man maintained he could barely remember the events of the night, as well as the police pursuit. The judge had little patience, telling the defendant the story was "quite simple."
The judge reiterated that the police officers had to take their weapons out due to the man's dangerous behaviour. He went on to demand why the defendant had behaved in this way. In response, the defendant claimed to have never had any issues with the police. The answer did not satisfy the judge, who repeated his question about the night in February and maintained the man's behaviour in court showed his lack of respect.
At the beginning of the trial, the defendant said he had been celebrating his football trainer's birthday with the rest of the team, which lead to the events in question.
One of the involved police officers was able to shed more light on the events. He explained that he and a colleague had been standing by traffic lights as the speeding car came from the direction of the Rocade car park. The police officers followed the man and attempted to stop him on multiple occasions, engaging in a police pursuit in which the man's driving could have caused danger to other motorists. Ultimately, they had to pull their weapons on the man in order to make him stop his car.
Whilst the defence lawyer attributed his client's behaviour to excessive alcohol consumption, the prosecutor described it as a "flagrant lack of respect" towards the police and the courts. The prosecutor recommended a 22-month driving ban and appropriate fine as the man's sentence.
The verdict will be proclaimed on 12 June.
