By Alex Mitchell in Canberra
RUGBY league star Jack Wighton demanded police “lock me up with him” as officers slapped handcuffs on Latrell Mitchell outside a Canberra nightclub, a court has heard.
The star NRL duo are in ACT Magistrates Court contesting charges stemming from an alleged early morning fight in February.
Mitchell’s defence will centre around alleged heavy-handed police conduct, the star South Sydney fullback having told police while being arrested: “I’ve done nothing wrong but be a blackfella in Australia”.
Both men are charged with failing to comply with an exclusion direction and fighting in a public place, while Mitchell is additionally charged with resisting a territory public official.
Prosecutor Sam Bargwanna accused the duo of fighting outside the Fiction nightclub after Wighton was removed from the venue by police due to his upset facial expression, angry demeanour and clenched fists.
The duo were out with other friends celebrating Wighton’s 30th birthday.
Police then allegedly intervened to break up the fight and arrest Mitchell, while reminding Wighton he’d been issued with an exclusion direction and to leave the area.
Wighton allegedly responded “lock me up with him, you’re f***wits”, before he was also arrested.
But Mitchell’s lawyer Jack Pappas said the police had acted inappropriately in their dealings with the men, suggesting it was “a sad parody of what proper police conduct needed to be”.
Footage from police body-worn cameras will show Mitchell encouraging people filming his arrest to share it on social media, Mr Papas told the court.
Other footage of the arrest shows four police officers on top of Mitchell when arresting him while the fullback yells “my shoulders, my shoulders”.
A lawyer for Wighton said Mitchell had been “reduced to a weeping mess” and “worrying he might die”.
“Mr Wighton heard all of it, saw all of it … it was confronting to see … he’s accused of not turning his back on his cousin and walking into the night,” Wighton’s lawyer told the court.
The pair sat next to each other in court and were very friendly with one another.
They were all smiles when confronted by a media pack when they arrived at the building on Monday morning.
The hearing is scheduled for three days.
The duo, who are distant cousins and close friends, have previously played together for both NSW and Australia, but will be club teammates for the first time next year after Wighton signed with South Sydney in April.
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