A Bondi Rescue star has avoided conviction for putting his hand on a woman’s neck “in a fit of alcoholic rage”.
Lifeguard Andrew ‘Reidy’ Reid, 45, appeared at Hornsby Local Court on Tuesday after pleading not guilty to two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and one count of common assault.
According to NCA Newswire, Magistrate Daniel Reiss dismissed both charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
However, he was found guilty of pushing a woman’s neck for up to five seconds in an “aggressive act amounting to common assault” without a conviction.
Mr Reid was also found to have made “a fairly clear admission of assault” during a counseling session and acknowledged he had acted inappropriately.
One assault charge was related to an alleged incident that occurred in November 2022, while the other allegedly took place in January 2024, over a 15-minute period.
Bondi Rescue star Andrew Reid (pictured) avoided conviction for putting his hand on a woman’s neck “in a fit of alcoholic rage”.
Prosecutors alleged Reid had bitten a woman’s arm, put his hands on her throat and thrown a phone at her, causing a cut on her leg that needed surgical glue to heal.
The court was told Mr Reid and the woman, who is listed as a protected person under an detained domestic violence order (ADVO), had been “fighting” when he allegedly deliberately bit her upper arm.
However, Reid claimed that he bit her because she had elbowed him in the sternum and that her arm had entered her mouth when she fell on top of him, the latter of which the police prosecutor dismissed as “physically impossible”.
In another alleged incident, the court heard Reid allegedly threw a phone at the woman, which hit her leg and left a “nasty cut”.
The lifeguard claimed he had thrown the phone at the woman or on the ground near her, but the prosecutor said he had given “two very different explanations.”
Mr Reid’s counselor notes also revealed a further confrontation during which he had “thrown his hands around (the woman’s) neck in a ‘fit of alcoholic rage'”.
A visibly upset Reid is said to have told the court “that’s not the kind of man I am” as he addressed the allegation.
The police prosecutor told the court the notes amounted to an “admission to the crime of common assault” by Mr Reid.
Reid is best known for having been a star on Bondi Rescue since the popular series first aired in 2006. He has patrolled the iconic beach (pictured in 2020) for more than two decades.
However, Mr Reid’s lawyer, Margaret Cunneen SC, told the court The “very fleeting” incident occurred when the woman attempted to retrieve her phone, and Mr Reid “guided” her to the bed with a hand on her neck before she fell.
The court also heard an audio recording between Mr Reid and the woman after she entered his room one night, in which he was heard saying: “Come out until you apologize, seriously, I’ll drag you out until you apologize.” excuse me.” you apologize’, out loud.
Bondi Rescue star Quinn Darragh and former Home and Away star Ryan Clark agreed the audio did not change their opinion of Mr Reid.
Magistrate Reiss concluded that Reid was “very angry” and had “lost control” of the audio recording, calling it “appalling behaviour”.
He found the woman to be an “honest” and “frank” witness but could not be convinced that allegations of biting or throwing phones were deliberate assaults.
Both charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm were dismissed, although Reid was found to have made a “fairly clear admission of assault” to his counsellor.
Reid was given a 12-month good behavior bail after being found guilty of pushing on the woman’s neck for up to five seconds.
He will also remain subject to a two-year violence detention order made in the woman’s name.
Earlier this year, Reid made headlines when he rushed to the aid of injured victims stabbed by Joel Cauchi in the Westfield Bondi Junction attack that claimed six lives. Pictured: Paramedics outside Westfield after the stabbing.
Reid is best known for having been a star on Bondi Rescue since the popular series first aired in 2006.
He has patrolled the iconic beach for more than two decades.
Earlier this year, Reid made headlines when he rushed to the aid of injured victims stabbed by Joel Cauchi in the Westfield Bondi Junction attack that claimed six lives.
He had been shopping for a new bed at Myer when a frantic retail worker told him that “people are being stabbed” and “the building is being evacuated.”
Mr Reid had been locked behind a security gate before convincing a security guard to let him slip under the gate to help a bleeding woman.
“There was a lady… and there was blood everywhere,” he told Nine News at the time.
“I realized I had to go help because that’s what we’re trained to do as lifeguards.”
He and two other members of the public gave first aid to the woman, along with police officers.
“I’ve never seen so much blood… we were just looking for wounds, trying to stop the bleeding,” he added.
‘When I looked up, there were several victims about 50 meters away. The lady next to us was very bad; there were other people working on it.’
Once Reid helped stabilize the woman, he continued moving around the mall to help others.
‘I saw that the police needed help with the other lady, so I started giving her compressions. “I don’t think she made it,” he said.
“Then I went to help the next victim and saw an empty stroller. I have three young children and I thought, Oh my God!
While Reid is no stranger to life-or-death situations, he admitted that he had never experienced anything so traumatic before.
“I’ve seen some pretty gnarly things after working for 20 years on the beach, but nothing like this,” he added.