WATCH: Raiders blast police, DPP after Jack Wighton case

The Canberra Times

Raiders chief executive Don Furner has blasted ACT Policing and the Director of Public Prosecution after charges against Latrell Mitchell and Jack Wighton were dismissed.

Transcript

00:00 Look, on behalf of the Raiders and Jack White, I'd just like to say we've just witnessed

00:04 an extraordinary waste of the court's time and taxpayers' money.

00:09 This should have and could have been avoided.

00:12 We wrote to the DPP a number of times to try and get meetings, to try and ask them why

00:16 this was going to go ahead.

00:17 I had to go and get this letter back from the DPP, Mr Barguano, who prosecuted the case.

00:23 His advice to us in one of the letters was, "Should your client be willing to plead guilty

00:28 to both charges and issue a public apology to both the responding police and the community

00:33 for his conduct."

00:34 So I'm assuming Mr Barguano will give a public apology to Jack White.

00:38 I had personally called Neil Gagan, the head of the ACT Police, a number of times.

00:43 I went and saw him.

00:44 I showed him the footage and I read the police statements and facts and I said, "I cannot

00:48 see how these marry.

00:50 Please tell me am I missing something."

00:51 I couldn't believe it, particularly galling to me because I know how hard we work.

00:55 I know how Jack has worked in the community with the raiders.

00:58 We've always done stuff with the ACT Police.

01:00 We've spoken to disaffected youth.

01:02 We've gone on night patrols with them that they would go to such lengths just to get

01:07 a conviction.

01:08 And everybody in that court yesterday saw what it was.

01:11 It was two people targeted because they weren't treated like normal members of society.

01:15 They were targeted because they were NRL players.

01:18 They could make a name for themselves.

01:19 The police that walked Jack White up the stairs with his hands pinned behind his back, pushed

01:23 against the wall because they had a grievance with that nightclub and that would get them

01:27 some kudos.

01:28 I'm particularly saddened for Latrell Mitchell whose memories of Canberra was that night

01:32 that he had and the way he was treated.

01:34 And I'm really, really sad for Jack White because I know how much he's done in the community

01:37 and this is his last memory of Canberra and last memory of the establishments that are

01:42 put there to try and protect them.

01:45 Happy to answer any questions but I will say I don't think that's the last the ACT Police

01:49 and the DPP will have heard of this.

01:50 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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