The father of a man who allegedly assaulted a police inspector in a courtroom claimed the violence was started by the officer.

On Monday, the 42-year-old had to be physically restrained during his arraignment in connection with violence against his parents.

The man from Żebbuġ, who cannot be named, allegedly turned aggressive after he was denied bail, bruising Inspector Kylie Borg when he grabbed her by the arm. The bruises were still visible on Thursday.

Giving evidence, the man’s father said his son was on drug withdrawal treatment. He said he believed his sun had mixed suboxone with cocaine and was not given treatment in custody.

“Obviously, he started saying stupid things when he was brought here,” he said.

“I want to say the truth before God and the court," he said. "[After the verbal abuse] the inspector, in a split second, jumped a barrier, grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the wall. She lost it. The physical aggression was started by the police”.

However, this statement prompted vociferous protests by the prosecution and the parte civile lawyer.

The court, presided over by magistrate Joseph Mifsud, declared that it would analyse the testimony of Magistrate Charmaine Galea who had presided over the arraignment and examine CCTV footage before reaching a decision.

Her testimony could not be reported as the case was originally heard behind closed doors.

Inspector Borg told the court that the man became aggressive when she suggested that he should be detained at Mount Carmel Hospital.

She said he hurled verbal abuse at the prosecution and accused the police officer of wanting to ruin his life, whilst pointing a finger at Magistrate Galea, calling her “cruel”.

“I started tapping him on the shoulder telling him to calm down as it wouldn’t do him any good… at one point he pushed my hand away and sat down," she said.

"He was insulting me the whole time. Then he stood up with such force that he knocked the bench over.” 

Police tried to hold him back as he was struggling, she said. He then started threatening to kill the inspector, grabbed her arms and started pressing, bruising her, Inspector Borg added.

“I want to kill you but I forgive you,” he allegedly said, as other officers intervened to lead him away from the courtroom.

Asked by defence lawyer Michael Tanti-Dougall about the initial target of the accused’s anger, Inspector Borg said it was his father for not withdrawing the case.

“The second eruption was more aggressive and threatening and was aimed at me,” she said

Lawyer Mario Mifsud also took the witness stand to testify about the incident. He had been walking along the corridor at the time and stepped in between the accused and the inspector to protect her.

He said he saw three police officers leaving the magistrate's hall with a person in custody. The police were discussing how to transport the accused and as soon as the inspector was about to speak, the man began to insult and assault her.

“I’m taught that when I see such things happening, I try to calm them down,” Dr Mifsud explained. The accused “was saying all kinds of things and was trying to break free from the police officers holding him back,” he said. 

Parte civile lawyer Lennox Vella then made submissions, disagreeing with the suggestion that Inspector Borg had been aggressive and arguing that the inspector had been trying to defend the magistrate when she had attempted to hold the man back.

Lawyer Tanti-Dougall, for the accused said he was “not a criminal, he’s sick,” pointing out that his client had not been given his medication due to an administrative oversight and this had sparked Monday’s incident.

Magistrate Joseph Mifsud observed that “the aggressor should not be made out to be the victim”.

Judgment is expected on Monday.