A suspected stalker rounded up by the police in Marsa in September was elbowed repeatedly on the head inside the police car driven by one of the constables currently charged with abducting and assaulting migrants. 

Details of that violent episode emerged in court on Thursday when two eyewitnesses, former fellow officers of the three accused, took the witness stand to testify about the incident.

The court also heard how weapons found on the accused - such as pepper spray - were not issued by the police.

PC Lydon Azzopardi and PC Ryan Mercieca had already testified before the inquiring magistrate but were authorised to testify again at the compilation of evidence about the incident, deemed to be a “new development” in terms of law. 

Both identified their former colleagues as Luca Brincat, 20, Rica Mifsud Grech, 22 and Jurgen Falzon, 24, all of whom were stationed at Ħamrun when the alleged incidents took place.

On September 13 in the afternoon, a call came through to their workplace from a woman who claimed that she was being harassed by a foreigner in Isouard Street, Marsa. 

Azzopardi and Mercieca, along with Brincat and Falzon, headed out to investigate the report, driving to the Marsa street in the police car. 

Once they got there, they found the suspected stalker, but the woman who had filed the complaint told them that she did not wish to pursue the matter any further. 

The officers ordered the suspect to get into their car so that they could question him about the incident.

But instead of heading straight to the police station on a two-minute drive, they took a roundabout route.

With Falzon at the wheel and Brincat seated at his side, the migrant sat on the back seat, between the other two officers. 

As they drove around, the two in the front ordered the man to bend over and put his head between the front seats.

And as he did so, Falzon allegedly elbowed him repeatedly on the head. 

At first one of the two in front had suggested going to the Qormi spot, but the other advised against.

It is still light, he said, because it was early evening. 

Some 10 or 15 minutes later, the man was escorted into the police station where he immediately told a sergeant about how he had been mistreated on the way. 

Bodycams were not switched on

Asked whether the incident had been captured on their bodycams, both witnesses said that the cameras were not switched on during the drive. 

Asked why, Azzopardi replied, “none of us did”, while Mercieca explained that he had not “felt the need [to switch on his bodycam] because the man was not aggressive”.

“So why didn’t you head straight to the police station,” asked Falzon’s lawyer, Edmond Cuschieri. 

“I wasn’t driving, so I had no control. I thought that we were heading to the police station straightaway,” said Mercieca. 

It was only when they entered the police station that they switched on the bodycams, filming the man while he was being questioned about the alleged harassment. 

Asked whether their superior, the sergeant, had not noticed any injuries on the migrant’s face, both confirmed that the man had no visible marks. 

“I’m no doctor but he had no visible signs,” said Azzopardi, adding that there was a report about the incident. 

They had offered the man medical assistance but he was later escorted to the Safi detention centre for deportation after further checks showed that he was staying in Malta illegally. 

Under cross-examination by lawyer Veronique Dalli, both witnesses also confirmed that Mifsud Grech had nothing to do with this particular incident. 

A third witness, constable Abigail Sciberras, told the court that she had nothing else to add to her testimony before the inquiring magistrate, but also identified the accused, her former colleagues at Hamrun. 

Earlier on, inspector Chantelle Vella Casha, representing the police quartermaster, gave a dated account of when each of the accused had first been issued with their police uniform and items to be used in their course of duties. 

Shown a particular black torch in a plastic evidence bag, she confirmed that that was not issued by the police. A can of pepper spray likewise was not issued by the quartermaster. 

She said guidelines had been issued back in 2007 about the use of pepper spray which always had to be reported and logged into police records. 

Psychiatrist Claire Axiak, who testified about one of the alleged victims at the previous sitting, returned to the witness stand again to present a copy of two medical files concerning that patient.

One was kept at Mount Carmel Hospital whereas the other file came from the Floriana mental health unit where the patient was often treated. 

The magistrate’s deputy registrar also exhibited a formal copy of the proces verbal.

Requests for bail upheld

After hearing some 20 witnesses in two sittings, besides those who had testified at the magisterial inquiry, the court, presided over by magistrate Joseph Mifsud, upheld all three accused’s requests for bail. 

Each was to sign the bail book daily, abide by a curfew between 8pm and 8am, deposit €5,000 and bind themselves under a personal guarantee of €45,000. 

Moreover, the court stressed that the accused were not to approach any prosecution witnesses, nor go anywhere near the Ħamrun police station, their former workplace. 

The court also banned them from approaching any detention or open centre or places where migrants lived. 

“These are very strict conditions,” stressed Mifsud. 

“The court sought to strike a balance between the accused’s rights and those of all persons who lived in this country, be they locals, migrants, asylum seekers or foreigners.”

The court also urged the police to act without delay upon court decisions directing them to take action against persons deemed a threat to society. 

“Take the necessary steps according to law but speed up the process before a small river turns into a tsunami,” the court said.

“There is no place for racism and there should be a no tolerance approach, coupled with inter-cultural learning. But let’s follow the law,” the magistrate concluded, before declaring that there were sufficient reasons for the accused to stand trial on indictment. 

The case continues in November.

Inspectors Joseph Mercieca and Omar Zammit prosecuted, assisted by AG lawyers Anthony Vella and Kaylie Bonnett.  Lawyers Franco Debono and Francesca Zarb are counsel to Brincat. Lawyer Dean Hili is also counsel to Mifsud Grech.