Markets 
Tara Cosoleto
Manslaughter charges against two police officers have been thrown out by a magistrate who said the case bore no comparison to the death in the United States of George Floyd.
Builder Luke Briggs, 35, died eight days after he was arrested in a convenience store car park at Hoppers Crossing, in Melbourne’s west, in July 2024.
Constable Alexander Papanastassis, 30, and Sergeant James Fitzgerald, 46, were each charged with negligent manslaughter over the death but fought the charges at a preliminary hearing.
Magistrate Patrick Southey determined on Tuesday that there was insufficient evidence for the case to go to trial and dismissed the charges.
“The evidence is so weak that the prospect of a conviction is minimal,” Southey said. “It may be the manner in which Mr Briggs was restrained was the substantial and operative cause of death, but we’ll never know.”
Briggs became unresponsive during the arrest and the officers performed CPR while waiting for paramedics.
The 35-year-old died in hospital on July 23, eight days after his arrest, surrounded by family. Photos at the time showed bruising on his arms as he lay in a hospital bed.
In delivering his ruling, Southey referred to the high-profile case of African-American man George Floyd in the US. Floyd was murdered by a white police officer who was arresting him in May 2020.
His dying words of “I can’t breathe” were also said by Briggs, the magistrate noted.
“It seems to me the parallels end there,” Southey said.
“There is no comparison to this case where … the police were doing the best they could. It was not a perfect job but the best they could do in all the circumstances.”
The magistrate noted Briggs was a large, powerful man whose behaviour had been irrational due to methamphetamine use.
“It was an unfortunate, tragic chain of events, but in my view, it does not amount to criminal negligence,” Southey said in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court.
He awarded costs to Papanastassis and Fitzgerald, who have both been suspended from duties since the incident.
Members of Briggs’s family were visibly upset as the decision was handed down.
The family is separately suing the state, accusing the officers of breaching their duty of care and Victoria Police of failing to “properly supervise, control or train their employees, officers and/or agents”.
Police Association secretary Wayne Gatt said the union had stood by the members who had now been rightfully cleared.
“Our members did their job. A difficult job, a challenging job, a dynamic job, and one that places them squarely between criminal behaviour and community safety,” he said.
“That night, they did what any of their colleagues would have done. They pulled over a suspicious vehicle and attempted to speak to the driver. When the situation escalated into a physical confrontation, they tried to manage it peacefully, but they were not afforded that opportunity.”
AAP
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