Jurist Hong Kong court dismisses US lawyer’s appeal in police assault case

[Dadparvar]

The Court of First Instance of the Hong Kong High Court dismissed the appeal Tuesday of US corporate lawyer Samuel Bickett, upholding his conviction and jail sentence for assaulting an off-duty police officer in December 2019.

Bickett’s appeal centered on the lower court not giving enough weight to the defense’s video evidence (an annotated version of which was tweeted by Bickett) nor to a responding, on-duty police officer’s conflicting testimony regarding the illegal use of a police baton.

Furthermore, Bickett and his lawyers objected to the court’s denial of their request to access the official version of the Hong Kong Police Force manual to more effectively allow for cross-examination of the police officer regarding his use of a baton against Bickett. The lower court found this official version was “irrelevant to the trial and also subject to public interest immunity.”

Judge Esther Toh, who dismissed Bickett’s appeal, concluded that the lower court’s findings were reasonable and within the lower court judge’s discretion. Regarding the refusal of access to the official police manual, the judge said:

[T]he event of that day took place during a most violent chapter in the history of Hong Kong where violence on the streets were meted out on ordinary citizens day after day, and police officers, when off- duty, if recognized were also beaten up, which caused the issue of the batons to off-duty police officers in September 2019 . . . . All the rules and requirements are of course reasonable and should be followed, but it must depend on the circumstances adhering to a particular time and place.

Bickett’s conviction arises from an altercation with Officer Yu Shu-sang. On December 17, 2019, while off-duty and in plain clothes in the MTR subway, Yu pursued a fleeing turnstile jumper and allegedly used his baton on the fleeing male’s neck. As this altercation ensued, a foreign bystander intervened, causing a distraction that allowed the fleeing male to escape.

The intervening bystander repeatedly asked Yu if he was a police officer, which Yu repeatedly denied. Bickett, who was also in the MTR and witnessed this repeated questioning, attempted to take Yu’s baton from him right before Yu changed his answer to “yes.”

Another violent altercation ensued, in which Yu fell over an MTR railing, Bickett struck Yu in the face as Yu struck Bickett with his baton from behind, and Yu and Bickett struggled over control of the baton. Bickett claims he was acting in self-defense and that Yu did not assert he was a police officer until after this physical altercation.

Bickett tweeted a public statement on the judgment, which included his intent to appeal. Additionally, Bickett stated, “I am grateful that the injustices committed against me are drawing attention to the threats to the rule of law in this city that I love dearly.”

The post Hong Kong court dismisses US lawyer’s appeal in police assault case appeared first on JURIST - News.

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