A methamphetamine dealer is suing South Australian police for $500,000, alleging he was left nearly blind in one eye when he was allegedly assaulted while being arrested.
Convicted criminal Rhys Aaron Johns, 32, filed a claim in the District Court of South Australia over the arrest at his Parafield Gardens home in Adelaide’s northern suburbs in January 2021.
Johns claimed he was assaulted 19 times, despite not resisting arrest or posing any threat to police, who were searching his home for drugs.
He said the officers punched him in the face several times and used pepper spray on him as he lay on the ground.
Johns also claimed that police did not tell him that he was arrested or charged with any crime before the alleged assaults.
Convicted drug dealer Rhys Aaron Johns (pictured right) is suing South Australian police for $500,000, claiming he was left almost blind in one eye when he was allegedly assaulted while being arrested.
He said he suffered injuries to his eye, face, stomach and back when an officer allegedly hit him with a gun and kneed him, leaving him unable to work.
His lawyer, Andrew Carpenter, said security cameras at John’s home showed he surrendered as soon as police approached him.
‘He has lost 96 percent of the vision in his left eye. She needed facial reconstructive surgery. “She suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder because of what happened to her,” Mr. Carpenter said. 7news.
“You’d never expect police officers to do that to you… it was just an absolute robbery, to be honest.”
South Australian police denied Johns’ allegations and said he was not entitled to any compensation.
Police went to Johns’ home after 18 grams of methamphetamine, scales and bags were found in his car.
They found another 27 grams of methamphetamine, valued at $30,000, when they searched Johns’ home, after which he and his partner were charged with drug trafficking.
Rhys Aaron Johns (pictured in a blue vest) filed a complaint in the District Court of South Australia over the arrest at his Parafield Gardens home in Adelaide’s northern suburbs in January 2021.
Carpenter said charges of resisting arrest and assaulting police were later dropped.
Johns was sentenced to five and a half years in prison in 2023 after he and his partner pleaded guilty.
“I think the images speak for themselves, people would never expect something like that from officers on duty, but rather a group of drunk teenagers in a nightclub,” Carpenter said.
“Now I would hate to think what would have happened if I hadn’t had cameras there, but we are seeing in your time people catching police officers assaulting them via CCTV or even mobile phones.”