An experienced policeman who assaulted a 16-year-old girl at a Perth police station to "punish" her has been ordered to pay more than $3000 but granted a spent conviction.
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Andrew David Barber, 36, forcefully pushed the girl onto a bench and sat on her in an incident captured by CCTV camera on May 25.
The senior constable had been tasked with escorting the teenager to the watch house on suspicion of attempted robbery, Perth Magistrates Court heard on Friday.
But when she kicked the door and it struck his face, he wrestled her in what Magistrate Greg Smith described as a "gross overreaction" against a vulnerable girl.
"It was completely uncalled for," the magistrate said.
The girl did not require medical attention following the incident, police said.
Barber, who has been an officer for 11 years, was stood down from operational duty and pleaded guilty to common assault.
He was fined $2500 and ordered to pay $705 in court costs.
A conviction will not be recorded against his name.
Mr Smith noted the girl had been abusive and he accepted Barber was remorseful and unlikely to reoffend.
He said while police officers were human like everyone else, they often faced stressful situations.
"Ordinary people of good character can sometimes lose their temper," he said.
"The community expects ... from police officers a very high standard of behaviour and a high standard of self-control."
Australian Associated Press
