Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Eighteen years is a long time to wait for some form of justice to be delivered. Eighteen years ago, on 9 March 1996, Corinna Horvath, who was 21 at the time, was assaulted in her own home. Her front door was kicked down, she was thrown to the floor and repeatedly punched in the face. These punches broke her nose, led to extensive facial bruising, a chipped tooth and made her lose consciousness. You would think that such an attack would be investigated and justice served. Her problem, however, was that the people who assaulted her in her home were eight serving police officers in the Victorian police force.

Police officers entered her home without a warrant for arrest. After the initial assault, she was handcuffed, dragged out of her house and taken to a police cell. After 20 minutes of ignoring her pleas, she was finally given medical attention and an ambulance was called. She was then taken to Frankston Hospital for treatment. A week later, she was readmitted after an artery in her nose shattered. Surgery and a five-day stay in hospital was required to repair some of the damage done by the police officers. She subsequently experienced anxiety, depression, loss of confidence, stress, interference with her relationship, poor memory and concentration and, of course, a fear of police. Her long journey for justice commenced from that day.

The assault was reported to the Ethical Standards Department of the Victoria Police. Soon after the complaint was lodged, local police laid 11 charges against Corinna, all of which were ultimately rejected by the courts. Almost a year later, the internal police investigation found that the forced entry allegation could not be substantiated. However, they did recommend an internal disciplinary charge against one of the officers—a charge ultimately discontinued by the police themselves in mid-1998.

In June 1997, Corinna filed for damages against the state of Victoria and the individual police involved. The trial occupied some 40 sitting days, hearing a substantial amount of evidence from a large number of witnesses, including the plaintiffs and the four police defendants. In February 2001, County Court Judge Williams handed down his decision. In his concluding remarks, Judge Williams said that, overall, it was 'a disgraceful and outrageous display of police force in a private house’. He said the officers' conduct ‘showed a most high-handed approach accompanied by excessive and unnecessary violence wrought out of unmeritorious motives of ill-will and desire to get even’. In conclusion, he found police at fault of assault, unlawful arrest, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution, and found that the police told lies on matters of major significance.