A man handled by the police “in the worst possible of manners” has been cleared of all criminal liability after being accused of violently resisting two policemen who turned up at his home to investigate reports of loud music.

Marko Stojanovic was celebrating Orthodox Christmas with his wife and two friends at the couple’s flat in Qawra when their merrymaking was abruptly cut short by the arrival of two police officers.

Their visit on that January night in 2019 was prompted by several calls from disgruntled neighbours. 

The two constables were met with loud music and shouting when they rang the doorbell “to no avail.”

They managed to attract the attention of the Stojanovics and their friends by banging on some chairs  that were in a balcony within the officers' reach. 

This finally brought out the accused, who objected to the “mess” the officers had caused in his balcony. 

That objection seems to have sparked off a violent scuffle during which the officers struggled to handcuff the man, resorting to using pepper spray when Mr Stojanovic was sitting on a sofa. 

He was prosecuted for allegedly resisting arrest with violence, refusing to provide the police with his personal details and causing disturbance with loud music and shouting at night.

However, when all evidence was put forward and judgment delivered, the Court, presided over by Magistrate Charmaine Galea, observed that the incident had spiraled out of control because the officers had not handled it “in the best of ways.”

Footage of the incident presented by both the prosecution and defence were “similar but not identical,” leading the Court to observe that the prosecution had been “selective” in its choice of evidence.

That evidence was not enough to prove how loud the music was, or to prove the effectiveness of the policemen’s knocking on the accused’s door. 

Moreover, the man had suffered “multiple injuries” while being handcuffed, given his “large frame.” The officers “should have asked for assistance,” given the circumstances, observed the Court, rather than handle him “in the worst possible of manners.”

As for his alleged refusal to provide his particulars, the Court noted that the accused had been willing to do so but had “first wanted them to see the mess they made in the balcony.”

All in all, the prosecution had failed to prove the accusations, said the Court, thus acquitting the ‘offender.’

Lawyer Mario Mifsud was defence counsel.