St. John's lockup guard Anthony Crocker says he used force allowed to restrain inmate
Anthony Crocker, the correctional officer on trial for assaulting an inmate in the drunk tank in St. John's, says once David Boland spit at him, Crocker was allowed to strike him.
Crocker, who said he was fired in April over the incident, took the stand in his own defence on Wednesday, saying Boland was being violent and verbally abusive for two hours after being brought to the drunk tank.
Boland, 38, testified at Crocker's trial in St. John's on Tuesday that he did spit at Crocker once but did not recall spitting at him directly before receiving two smacks to the head.
By his own admission, Boland was drunk, belligerent and threatening when he was taken into the drunk tank after a scuffle with a bouncer at the Cotton Club.
Surveillance video from the lockup shows Crocker, 35, striking the inmate twice. Boland was lying facedown on a mattress at the time.
Crocker doesn't deny hitting Boland but said it was necessary to get him to stop spitting.
After Boland was moved to a separate cell, Boland said Crocker hit him again.
Boland is also suing Crocker and the Newfoundland and Labrador government over the incident.
Crocker, on the other hand, has filed a grievance over the termination of his employment.
Fellow officer Rick Peddle testified on Tuesday that Crocker has a reputation for being cool under pressure and said Crocker apologized after the incident.
He added Crocker said after the abuse he had taken from Boland for the past two hours, he was at the end of his rope and was maxed out.
Other correctional officers testified at trial that they would rather be punched and assaulted than spit on.
