Off-duty cop lied in attempt to cover up assault

A former police officer who assaulted a man in broad daylight while off duty and lied to investigators in an attempt to avoid punishment has been spared jail.

Todd Barry Apted, 52, claimed he was acting in self-defence when he punched, kicked towards and wrestled a man in the Tasmanian city of Launceston in August 2020.

Apted had been phoned by his son, who said he had been verbally abused by the man and had his car window punched.

Apted was concerned because his son had a year earlier been the victim of an armed robbery.

CCTV from a house showed Apted, who was a serving police officer at the time but on a day off, saying "what the f*** is your problem you f****** piece of s***" and advancing towards the man.

Apted was interviewed by police three weeks after the incident, claiming his life was in danger as the man was affected by drugs and had a knife.

Apted, who has resigned after serving as a police officer for 24 years, was in February found guilty by a jury of assault and perverting justice.

In sentencing remarks, Justice Robert Pearce said Apted's account was "completely inconsistent" with the CCTV footage.

"(Your claims) you were forced to defend yourself for fear of imminent threat or serious injury were not only untrue, but were deliberate falsehoods intended to divert the investigating police from prosecuting you for assault," Justice Pearce said.

Before the incident, Apted had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder from the cumulative impact of his career.

A psychiatrist's report noted symptoms included hypervigilance and a strong reaction to perceived threats.

Justice Pearce said this marginally reduced Apted's moral culpability for the assault, but lying to investigators was not done in the "heat of the moment".

"The community is entitled to expect that police officers will uphold the law, not act to undermine it," Justice Pearce said.

Apted was sentenced to six months' jail, wholly suspended for two years, and ordered to do 84 hours of community service for perverting justice.

He was fined $1500 for the assault.

Justice Pearce said what happened to Apted's son may have been unsettling for him but for any reasonable observer it was relatively trivial and did not justify a violent response.

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