Former senior constable Mark Follington is appealing his conviction for the violent May 2019 arrest of Anya Bradford in Sydney's southwest and the severity of a subsequent two-and-a-half-year prison sentence.
Two medical experts gave evidence before Judge William Fitzsimmons in Downing Centre District Court on Wednesday, when Follington's possible dementia was canvassed.
CCTV footage of her arrest showed Anya Bradford being thrown into an ATM. (HANDOUT/NSW LOCAL COURT)
Geriatrician Mark Hohenberg, who has treated the former officer since 2021, said Follington's medical tests showed a level of short-term memory loss and mild cognitive impairment dating back three to four years.
"(The damage) is a long-term set of changes due to vascular damages to the brain and they tend to occur over years," he told the court, adding it was an "insidiously" slow decline.
Dr Hohenberg said it was "almost certain" Follington was suffering some level of impairment in 2019, when the violent incident took place.
Judge Fitzsimmons questioned whether this impairment could lead to an entirely untrue recollection of events, as in the case of Follington creating false police records about the arrest.
But Dr Hohenberg said Follington's mild cognitive impairment could have only affected his memory and would not lead to a complete reconstruction of events.
A scan of Follington's brain showed no evidence of Alzheimer's disease or dementia, although the geriatrician said this did not rule out the prospect of either condition given the ex-officer was suffering from pre-dementia symptoms.
Follington became visibly emotional in the public gallery while his diagnosis and condition were discussed.
Tuly Rosenfeld, a second geriatrician who has not treated the former officer, said scans made in 2021 confirmed Follington was suffering from vascular disease in his brain.
Follington falsely wrote that Ms Bradford (centre) stood up from a poker machine and pushed him. (Dean Lewins/AAP PHOTOS)
"In my view, it's unlikely that the degree of brain disease evident two years later in 2021 ... would've been directly relevant to those events in 2019," he said.
Follington was found guilty on two assault charges and for creating false evidence about the arrest in his police notebook, in a police facts sheet handed to court and on the NSW Police COPS database.
CCTV footage played to the court on Monday showed Follington and Probationary Constable Mark Brown approaching Ms Bradford as she sat in the gaming room at the Golden Fleece Pub in Liverpool.
During an argument with the officers while trying to exit the building, Ms Bradford was thrown into an ATM, with capsicum spray used before she was handcuffed and arrested.
The footage showed Follington elbowing her under her jaw after she was in custody.
Follington falsely wrote that Ms Bradford stood up from a poker machine and pushed him, causing him to lose balance.
The former senior constable is claiming self-defence as part of his appeal.
9°C