The mechanic successfully sued the state of NSW. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
The NSW Supreme Court of Appeal has ruled a Wagga policeman acted lawfully in arresting and detaining a cancer-stricken Wagga mechanic over pink slip fraud charges that were later dismissed.
In a case that made national news, Christopher Dennis, who owned Wagga City Auto Centre, successfully sued the state of NSW after he was arrested by Senior Constable Matthew Owen and transported in a “caged police vehicle” and then kept in a jail cell for five hours in March 2021.
District Court Judge Robert Newlinds ruled the policeman did not consider reasonable alternatives to arresting Mr Dennis, who was “falsely” imprisoned. The judge awarded Mr Dennis $10,000 in damages.
However, the Court of Appeal ruled that the judge made an error in his decision, concluding that the Senior Constable did not have viable alternatives and that in order to put conditional bail on someone, that person has to be taken to a police station.
The 56-year-old former mechanic will not lose the $10,000 he was paid, as the state of NSW (representing the police force) agreed to pay for his legal costs during the appeal and not to challenge the damages he was previously awarded. The Court of Appeal said it was considering the “principle and public importance” of Judge Newlinds’s ruling.
According to the Court of Appeal’s published decision, Senior Constable Matthew Owen visited the Wagga City Auto Centre in March 2021 to conduct an audit. He accused Mr Dennis of falsifying window tint and brake meter readings for pink slips, which certify the roadworthiness of a vehicle to be registered. The police officer arrested the veteran mechanic.
“The only way that we can prevent further offences occurring is to place you on bail and not to complete any more pink slips until the matter goes before a magistrate,” Senior Constable Owen told him. He took Mr Dennis to the police station, where he was held in custody for five hours.
At the time of the arrest, Mr Dennis was suffering from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He had recently received his fifth course of chemotherapy. The police were aware of his cancer diagnosis and treatment and did their best to reduce any risks of him contracting COVID-19 – a great concern at the time – by wiping down various surfaces.
Mr Dennis pled not guilty to 10 counts of publishing false and misleading material to obtain financial advantage or cause disadvantage. Wagga Court dismissed all 10 charges against him in June 2022.
Mr Dennis’ lawyer Paul McGirr told Region he accepted and respected last week’s Court of Appeal decision but stood by his previous statement that his client’s arrest was “police overreach”.
“It fails the pub test when a police officer turns up and arrests a man who is that sick, going through chemotherapy, a man who is of good character with a very successful business, to charge him and cart him to the police station during COVID and leave him in custody for a few hours,” Mr McGirr said.
“[The police] know where he lives, know who he is, he’s a person of good character and you’ve chosen to lock him up? … The charges went nowhere.”
Mr McGirr said his client had recovered from cancer and was doing better than he was during the initial court case, which put him under “huge stress”.
“He still has his damages, he still has his reputation and his legal fees are covered by the state,” Mr McGirr said.
NSW Police declined to comment on the Court of Appeal judgement.
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