Man sues police after internal report says sergeant unlawfully entered property, assaulted him

A man who was held down and pepper-sprayed in his front yard after officers followed him home at 3am is suing Victoria Police, claiming police maliciously prosecuted him after the incident that made him fear for his life.

Greg Sposaro was driving home in Hadfield, in Melbourne’s north, after helping a friend work on a car on a Friday night in February 2019. He saw a police car about 100 metres away but said he thought nothing of it and turned towards home.

“If someone was murdering me, I wouldn’t ring them [police],” says Greg Sposaro.Credit:Paul Jeffers

Police flicked on their lights and began to pursue him, though he said he didn’t notice. He pulled into his driveway and was getting out of his car when he saw two officers pull up outside his house. They told him he had evaded police, and asked for his driver’s licence and his name.

Mr Sposaro told them: “Don’t step onto this property, f–k off,” and “you can’t be on this property”.

A few minutes later, he lay pinned underneath the senior officer, pepper-sprayed and with what he thought was police-issued torch pressed on his windpipe. He had a hernia and was in a lot of pain.

Authorities charged Mr Sposaro with evading police, resisting arrest and two counts of assault. Police later dropped the charges but not before Mr Sposaro had paid a lawyer more than $6000 in legal fees to dispute the charges in court.

Marks left on the neck Greg Sposaro, who says he was assaulted by a police member in his own front garden.

An internal police report obtained under freedom of information laws is scathing of both officers’ conduct. It found Sergeant Jonathon Edward Miller unlawfully entered the property, pepper-sprayed Mr Sposaro and pinned him to the ground.

The report found the officers involved suspected that Mr Sposaro “at best” committed a summary traffic offence and did not have the power to enter his property.

“When police arrested [Mr Sposaro] and grabbed him by the arms, they were acting as trespassers and therefore acting outside the course of their duties,” the report said.

The report also found that when Mr Sposaro pushed Sergeant Miller he was acting in self-defence and the force he responded with – for which he was charged with assaulting police – was lawful.

“Their arrest of the accused became unlawful and so the accused had the right to defend himself.”

Police also dropped the evading police charge, with the report finding Mr Sposaro was so far away when officers indicated he pull over that police couldn’t show he had seen their command.

Sergeant Miller has since been stood down without pay.

Mr Sposaro said he didn’t understand why Sergeant Miller entered his property. But he said that when the officer came for him, he feared for his life.

Greg Sposaro – pictured with his partner Cynthia Windsor and their dog Coco – says he was scared by the police officers that came to his home.Credit:Paul Jeffers

“I’ve never been hit like that before,” Mr Sposaro said. “I’ve never been bashed like that before. I told them that night ‘please stop’, and they wouldn’t.

“I’ve never been in a position when I feared for my life. I’m not a paranoid person, but that night I got scared.”

Mr Sposaro’s partner, Cynthia Windsor, was woken up by their Shih Tzu-Jack Russell crossbreed dog Coco barking at the police officers through the window. When she asked what was going on, she said the police told her: “Get the f— back inside”.

Ms Windsor said the couple didn’t sleep “for two days straight”. They have since moved house after neighbours started to avoid them.

“I was sick for a week, I was diagnosed with PTSD,” she said. “I’ve got family friends who are retired police officers. We always had high respect for a police officer. Speaking for myself, I’ve lost that respect.”

Following the incident, Mr Sposaro said he became withdrawn and despondent, his trust in police destroyed.

A passionate Collingwood supporter, he said he couldn’t go to the football because seeing police working in the crowd at the MCG made him anxious. In more than 100 games playing association football, he was never assaulted this badly, he said.

“I feel like they’re going to arrest me or something again,” he said.

We always had high respect for a police officer. Speaking for myself, I’ve lost that respect.

Ms Windsor, who has kept meticulous notes throughout the entire affair, said neither she nor Mr Sposaro had been contacted by Victoria Police’s integrity unit, the Professional Standards Command, about Sergeant Miller’s behaviour.

A police spokesman would not confirm the existence of any internal or criminal investigation into the matter and did not provide evidence of any disciplinary action. To date, no charges have been laid over the incident.

In documents filed in the County Court last month, Mr Sposaro claimed he was entitled to exemplary damages, which are typically awarded to send a message that the court finds conduct particularly egregious.

His lawyer Jeremy King said he would not comment on the case while it was before the court, but said clients often felt litigation was their only option to hold police accountable.

“I do think, by and large, the judicial system does a good job in holding police accountable, but that should be one piece of the puzzle and not the whole thing,” he said.

Victoria Police said they would not comment on the incident while it was before the court. Lawyers acting for Sergeant Miller did not respond to requests for comment.

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