Two former Sydney police officers will spend at least three years in jail for the “gratuitous cruelty” they inflicted upon a naked, mentally unwell woman who was assaulted and pepper sprayed during a welfare check.
Warning: This story contains images and descriptions of violence that some readers may find distressing.
The actions of Timothy John Trautsch, 30, and Nathan Black, 28, were recorded on body-worn camera after they were called to an Emu Plains cul-de-sac in January 2023, and found the woman sitting on the ground.
Their subsequent treatment of her, after telling the 48-year-old she would be taken to hospital under the Mental Health Act, was described on Friday by NSW District Court Judge Graham Turnbull as “a deliberate and ongoing attack”.
“It’s certainly, to my mind, a matter that sits quite clearly as a most egregious breach of the law,” he said.If you or anyone you know needs help:Lifeline on 131 114Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800Beyond Blue on 1300 224 63613 YARN on 13 92 76Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467MensLine Australia on 1300 789 978Headspace on 1800 650 890ReachOutSANE on 1800 187 263Call triple-0 if you need immediate care
Trautsch will serve a non-parole period of three years, with a head sentence of five years and nine months, while his younger co-offender received a non-parole period of three years and three months with a head sentence of five years and nine months.
The court heard the unmedicated woman had schizophrenia, was experiencing a psychotic episode and had been released from Amber Laurel Correctional Centre earlier that day.
Trautsch and Black both pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm in company, common assault and misusing a prohibited weapon.
Attack shared on Facebook Messenger
According to the agreed facts, Trautsch used his pepper spray to the woman’s face and genitals, while Black dragged her along the road by her hair and also used his spray.
Both men repeatedly kicked and stomped on her while she was on the ground.
At one point, Trautsch is recorded in the facts as saying “that’s enough, there could be cameras”.
The woman, who was found naked, was assaulted and peppered sprayed by the officers. (Supplied)
When hospital staff asked the officers whether the woman had been sprayed to her genitals, Black replied: “Yes, you have to do what you have to do”.
Black admitted he later shared clips of the video via Facebook Messenger with a colleague.
He wrote: “She was f***ed the whole body worn is so good shows her being f***ed”.
Black also claimed, in his messages, that “she had my cuffs and almost had a full hold of them and we had no spray left”.
Black pleaded guilty to two counts of intentionally publishing protected information over his sharing of the body-worn footage.
‘A lot of self-justification’
Judge Turnbull said the use of pepper spray was “clearly calculated … to inflict the maximum pain and discomfort while purporting to try and free some handcuffs from her hand”.
He said the former officers showed “complete and utter contempt for the victim”.
“It seems they just didn’t care at all.”
The judge said in one section of the body-worn footage, Trautsch’s demeanour “unfortunately is consistent with some evident wry humour on his part”.
He found the men were in a heightened state of anger, frustration and malice when they inflicted “gratuitous violence” after being confronted with a challenging situation.
Judge Turnbull said in one section of the body-worn footage, Trautsch’s demeanour “unfortunately is consistent with some evident wry humour”. (Supplied)
In defence material before the court, the judge said there was “a lot of self-justification” including Black’s claims of PTSD, and an inability to address his own mental health problems due to workplace stigma and toxicity.
Trautsch too had attempted to “slide the responsibility in part into the lap of the employer and the job”, but overall the judge said both offenders were young men with prior good character.
“Those who offer themselves up to serve the community … are expected to not only enforce the law but abide by it, strictly,” he said.NSW Police responds
In a statement following the judgment, Acting NSW Police Commissioner David Hudson said it was “one of the worst examples of contravening our core values and ethics I have ever seen” in his career of more than four decades.
“This behaviour completely contradicts the commitment we make as officers to uphold the values and ethics of wearing the blue uniform,” he said.
“It is simply not what we stand for as police who make a pledge to protect the community.
“I’m very sorry for what the victim endured, especially when it was at the hands of police officers who were called there to assist her.”
The men resigned from the force in August 2023, before they were removed.
The woman has since died in circumstances that were “in no way related to … these crimes”, the judge said.