A sledge in a country pub has landed a police officer under investigation after dramatic footage was played in court that showed him pepper spraying a patron while ejecting him.
No one could agree on what Merriwa man Joseph Wright said to Senior Constable Jason Bear in the front bar of the Royal Hotel when the officer was performing a walk-through of the Hunter Region pub in February 2024.
Senior Constable Bear claimed in court that Mr Wright said, “I f..king hate the cops. I hate what the uniform represents. And I f..king can’t stand you.”
The bartender – who had served one drink to Mr Wright – remembered it differently and gave evidence that Mr Wright’s insult was about the “thread count” of the officer’s uniform.
It led to a confrontation where the officer attempted to remove Mr Wright from the pub and pepper sprayed his eyes when he refused to go.
Sen Con Bear charged Mr Wright with five offences, including assault after the 42-year-old appeared to flick water at the officer from the hose he was using to rinse his eyes after being sprayed.
Mr Wright was found guilty of the offences in the Local Court.
But that decision was overturned by Judge Ross Hudson in Newcastle District Court on 25 July 2025 when he ruled Senior Constable Bear was himself not complying with the law when he kicked Mr Wright out of the pub.
He also referred Senior Constable Bear to be investigated by the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission for potentially using excessive force.
When cross-examining the officer, Mr Wright’s lawyer Paul McGirr accused Senior Constable Bear of reacting out of emotion after being sledged by his client rather than having a justifiable reason to kick him out.
Judge Hudson found the officer had not given a valid reason for removing Mr Wright, as required by the state’s Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 and Liquor Act 2007.
The provisions permit police to exclude intoxicated or quarrelsome persons. Instead, the video evidence tendered in court showed the officer telling Mr Wright he was being kicked out for “carrying on like a twit”.
Mr McGirr told the court this was not a legally valid reason for removing Mr Wright.
The footage showed Senior Constable Bear grabbing Mr Wright’s arm and pushing his chest when the pair were on the pub’s back veranda.
Without a legal reason to remove Mr Wright, Judge Hudson told the court this was an assault.
This caused a domino effect that caused the case to collapse, the court heard.
According to the footage played to the court, the officer followed Mr Wright to the back veranda and said “Joseph you’re done. You’re out. Understand? ... It’s time to go.”
Mr Wright asked: “According to what?”
The officer replied: “For that performance in there ... carrying on like a twit.”
When the officer grabbed Mr Wright’s arm, he said: “Assault me again and I’ll throw you down them f..king stairs.”
Senior Constable Bear then told Mr Wright he was being removed for “carrying on like a twit.”
Mr Wright responded, “For what? Asking you why you’re wearing that gear? Not a chance.”
The officer then pushed Mr Wright who said: “Excuse me, that’s assault, brother.”
Seconds later the pair continued arguing at the bottom of the stairs. After threatening to use his taser, the officer pepper-sprayed Mr Wright in the face.
As Mr Wright used a hose at the pub to rinse his eyes, the officer told him: “(You stood) in the middle of the bar and yelled abuse at me and expected nothing to happen.”
The officer also told Mr Wright he used the spray because he threatened to throw him down the stairs.
Mr Wright responded: “You’re telling me that you pepper-sprayed me because I said I would throw you down the f..king stairs while we’re standing at the bottom of the f..king stairs?”
The matter will return for a costs hearing on August 15.
