A man charged with assaulting a female police officer said he "has no recollection" of the assault, a court has heard.
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The man faced Inverell Local Court on Thursday, where his solicitor Sue Daiken argued for no conviction to be recorded in light of his non-existent criminal history.
"He doesn't drink regularly, but he periodically drinks to excess," she submitted.
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The man had been locked in the car by two others when police arrived on King Street after 2am, statements tendered to the court read.
Police had been called to the street with a noise complaint detailing people at the house were getting increasingly violent.
The two officers who arrived saw he had a bleeding nose, however no one there would tell them what had happened in the house, but they came to the conclusion there had been a physical altercation between the man and another.
As officers attempted to talk to the man, he "aggressively tried to advance" on the two other people who had kept him in the car.
When the female Senior Constable tried to stop him, he pushed her shoulder, shoving her back.
Fearing further violence, she pepper sprayed him and he dropped to the ground immediately.
"I didn't mean to assault her, I only pushed her," he told the police as they treated his eyes with saline solution in their vehicle.
Later at the station, he stated he didn't know she was a police officer until he got sprayed, while admitting he knew police were there at the scene.
Mrs Daiken said the man normally had a good relationship with police, even though he didn't "come across them too often".
Given his lack of criminal record and considering the assault was a "push instead of a punch", she submitted a lengthy conditional release order without conviction was appropriate.
Sergeant Mareika Wilkins for the prosecution disagreed, saying that any assault on police was unacceptable.
"Obviously any assault against a police officer is a serious offence," she stated.
"It's a difficult job... made more difficult by behaviour like this.
"A conviction needs to be recorded."
While condemning the man's behaviour as "appalling", magistrate Holly Kemp gave him the "chance" of a non-conviction for his "complete lack of record" and "entirely remorseful" attitude.
"You were out of control, sir," she told him.
"She was just trying to do her job... I know you have no recollection, but that in itself is concerning."
He was placed on a conditional release order for 15 months, with no further penalty.
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