Off-duty officers ‘assaulted disabled man after he tried to chat them up in gay bar’
A disabled man was allegedly assaulted by two police officers after he tried to ‘chat them up’ in a gay bar.
Zach Gell, 27, and Matthew Muskett, 25, are on trial for assault by beating after they allegedly ‘grabbed and pushed’ Sam Corner, 27.
The group had spoken briefly on the dancefloor before the off-duty police officers are accused of surrounding Mr Corner, grabbing him and dragging him out.
Mr Corner – who has autism, ADHD and cerebral palsy – said it was his first time at a gay bar when he visited Dorothy’s Showbar during the week Liverpool hosted Eurovision last year.
He was hoping to find a relationship, so he approached a group of four men on the dancefloor – including Mr Gell and Mr Muskett – who ‘he had wanted to go and chat up’.
At this point Muskett claimed to be 15 years old, Mr Corner told the court. This left Corner ‘confused’, but he denies replying ‘I don’t mind’.
Mr Corner then returned to the table where his friends were sat before going to the toilet, the Liverpool Echo reports.
CCTV showed Mr Gell and Mr Muskett following around a minute later.
Mr Corner claims he ‘went for a wee, washed his hands and walked out’ without interacting with the two officers. He denies standing next to the two officers as they used the urinals.
However, there was then ‘further conversation between the parties’, prosecutor Ms Ludlow said.
Footage showed the officer approaching Mr Corner on the dancefloor, before Mr Muskett pointed at a wall, where he is believed to have told Mr Corner to stand after flashing his warrant card and asking for ID.
Mr Corner said he believed the warrant card to be fake.
When being questioned by Maria Brannan, defending Muskett, Mr Corner said: ‘He did not say that [he was a police officer].
‘I can guarantee 100% he did not say he was a police officer, he never said he wanted a word with me during the whole incident.
‘He just came up and showed me his warrant card. He never said anything about the police or that he wanted a word with me, he just came up to me.
‘They surrounded me in a circle, grabbed me by my arms and dragged me out [from the dance floor].’
It is alleged that Mr Gell ‘grabbed’ Mr Corner, while Mr Muskett is alleged to have ‘grabbed and pushed’ him, MailOnline reports.
Mr Corner said: ‘I did not expect to be attacked by police officers.’
He added: ‘I have never been more scared in my life.’
Ms Brannan claimed Muskett merely ‘put his hands’ on Corner’s chest, rather than pushing him.
Rachael White – defending Gell – suggested the officer had held him by the right arm because Mr Corner ‘tried to run off’, a claim Mr Corner denies.
Ms Ludlow claimed this use of force was ‘not reasonable’ as Mr Corner showed no criminal intent and the incident could have been reported to the venue’s security staff.
In cross-examination Ms Brannan asked if Mr Corner noticed the men ‘trying to move away’ from him, to which Mr Corner replied ‘no’.
Asked if he saw ‘that one of the men went to speak to the bouncer’ about him, Mr Corner said ‘no’.
Mr Corner, who said he ‘wasn’t drunk’ after four points of cider, admitted he could be ‘loud’ and ‘direct’ with people he really liked, when asked by Ms Brannan if his ADHD or autism affected his behaviour.
He told the court: ‘I was happy, I was my normal self, I may be loud, I may talk too much because of my autism and my condition but that doesn’t make me a bad person.’
Asked by Ms Ludlow where he believes he did anything wrong, Mr Corner said: ‘No I don’t. I was on a night out with my friends, I was minding my own business.
He added: ‘Next minute I was being attacked, scared for my life.’
At his friend’s encouragement, Mr Corner reported the alleged assault the following day.
Mr Gell, of Little Sutton, Wirral, and Mr Muskett, of Eastham, Wirral, both deny a charge of common assault.
The trial – due to last two days – continues.
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