The mother of a young man accused of attacking two off-duty cops has cried in court after watching footage of her son allegedly stomping on an officer’s head.
Koby Weaver, 20, appeared via video-link over the shocking alleged assault that unfolded in Newtown late on Friday night, shortly after Weaver’s friend Danai Deneiderhavsein is accused of stealing an UberEats bag from an Oportos.
Police documents allege about 10 minutes later, CCTV captured Deneiderhavsein, 18, Weaver and another unidentified friend getting into an altercation with two cops.
It is alleged Deneiderhavsein had his hand in the officer’s face who threw a punch in self-defence, after which he was knocked to the ground.
Deneiderhavsein allegedly attempted to stomp on the officer’s head, but he shielded his face with his hands.
The altercation then spilled onto the busy main street of Enmore Road where Weaver is alleged to have pulled people away from the fight before he stomped on the second officer’s head as he lay on the ground.
Footage of the brawl taken from a mobile phone on a balcony was played for the court, with the sickening sound of the second officer’s skull hitting the ground easily heard over the background noise of the street, reported The Sydney Morning Herald.
The second officer was knocked out and an off-duty nurse attended to him, performing CPR to regulate his breathing until paramedics arrived.
Emergency services (pictured) are seen treating a young man at the scene in Newtown
Koby Weaver, 20, (pictured right) appeared via video-link over the shocking alleged assault that unfolded in Newtown late Friday night
He was taken to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in a critical condition with brain swelling and fractured eye sockets and is now listed as serious but stable.
The three men left the scene before local police arrived.
The two off-duty officers had been at a concert by American singer Alec Benjamin at the Enmore Theatre.
Weaver was charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent. Deneiderhavsein was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm in company and larceny.
The third man is yet to be found and has not been charged over the brawl.
The police prosecutor told the court Weaver should be refused bail to live with his mother on the Northern Beaches because of the ferocity of the attack.
‘The force of stomp on [the officer’s] head so significant that, on the footage itself, it produces and audible impact heard from a mobile phone on a balcony some distance away,’ Edwards said.
His defence lawyer pointed to an absence of any criminal history but Magistrate Jennifer Atkinson agreed with the prosecution and said she was left with little choice but to deny bail, causing both Weaver and his mother to break down in tears.
Two men (pictured) have been arrested after an alleged vicious assault of two off-duty police officers in Sydney’s inner west
Shocked witnesses are seen speaking to police at the crime scene in Newtown
NSW Premier Chris Minns said ‘all of NSW will be thinking of these brave men and their families’ in a statement this week.
‘I’m devastated to hear that two off-duty police officers were seriously assaulted last night in the Inner West,’ he said.
‘These two men saw an incident, went to assist those involved, and were brutally attacked, this is sickening.
‘Every day our police force put their lives on the line to keep us safe – even when they’re not in uniform.’
Weaver was denied bail and will front court on March 20.
Deneiderhavsein did not apply for bail and reappear on January 30.
