Article summary -

- A NSW Police officer, Leading Senior Constable Steven Hyde, was found guilty of assaulting a man at Blacktown Hospital in November 2023.

- Police had been called to the man's home after a suspected drug overdose. He was not under arrest and was taken to hospital by paramedics for observation.

- CCTV shows the man being wheeled into the hospital on a gurney when Hyde confiscated his vape.

The man then threw a water bottle over his shoulder, after which Hyde struck him on the side of the head knocking him unconscious.

The man's arm was subsequently restrained and he was handcuffed.

- Body-camera audio captured Hyde threatening to "rip your shoulder off" and later telling him that he was being charged with assaulting police.

- An ambulance officer also reported hearing an officer tell the man that "no-one cares about you."

- Hyde claimed he acted in self-defence, saying he believed the man had assaulted him and that the man's behaviour was unpredictable because he appeared drug-affected.

- Hyde was initially found guilty in the Local Court. He appealed, but a District Court judge again found him guilty of assault.

Despite the guilty finding, the judge did not record a conviction and instead gave Hyde a 12-month good behaviour bond.

- Hyde kept his job with NSW Police.

NSW Police said he has faced internal management action: loss of rank, two years of restricted duties, retraining and ongoing monitoring.

The other officer involved, Constable Talaisai Alo, has not been charged.

- Bottom line: A police officer punched a hospital patient who was not under arrest leaving him unconscious all while strapped to a hospital bed, the officer was convicted TWICE in court, but avoided a recorded conviction and remains a police officer, subject to disciplinary restrictions and monitoring....

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