The woman is now suing Victoria Police for damages in the County Court. Jessie Scarlett-Rhodes and her husband Rhys Rhodes were out drinking at the Royal Hotel in Sunbury on December 14, 2012 when Mr Rhodes became unwell and went outside to vomit. The court was told he had taken a prescription medication used to treat nicotine addiction which, combined with the beers he consumed, made him sick. Police watched the pair walking into a nearby laneway, and four officers went to investigate. According to one of the officers, Senior Constable Aaron Eastley, Mrs Scarlett-Rhodes immediately became abusive to police when he shone his torch towards her, swearing at them and calling them "c---s". What happened next is a matter of dispute.

According to the original running sheet - a record of events made by police at the end of a shift - there was a verbal argument in the laneway, and both Mr Rhodes and then Mrs Scarlett-Rhodes were forced to the ground, handcuffed and arrested. But according to police statements signed months after the incident, Mrs Scarlett-Rhodes - on seeing her husband being handcuffed - spat on the face of one officer, and then leapt onto the back of Sergeant Carl Wagner, kicking out and putting her hands around his throat. Senior Constable Eastley told the court on Friday that two officers had pulled Mrs Scarlett-Rhodes off Sergeant Wagner. Senior Constable Cassie Chirichilli​ said it took one officer to pull Mrs Scarlett-Rhodes off. She was thrown to the ground, and suffered grazes to her face. Police said it was necessary to use force against Mrs Scarlett-Rhodes based on her actions. The court was told, however, there was no mention of this alleged altercation either in the running sheet, or in the "use-of-force" form filled out by police afterwards.

Barrister Dyson Hore-Lacy this week told the County Court that Sergeant Wagner was a "huge" man more than six feet tall, while Mrs Scarlett-Rhodes stood at just 5 foot 2 inches. Mrs Scarlett-Rhodes suffered facial injuries in the laneway and, according to evidence put before the court, she later discovered she had a fracture to her head. She was charged with assaulting police, resisting police, using insulting language in a public place and being drunk in a public place. She pleaded guilty "somewhat begrudgingly" to the charges, Mr Hore-Lacy told the court, to take advantage of an offer to participate in the diversion program and avoid a lengthy legal battle she could not afford. Separately, Mrs Scarlett-Rhodes made a formal complaint about the actions of police to the ethical standards department. An internal investigation cleared police of wrongdoing, after which she launched civil action in the County Court.

On Friday, Senior Constable Chirichilli and Senior Constable Eastley were read sections of their statements, sworn to in March 2013, that were identical to sections of the other officers present. Both denied copying any part of their statements, but both acknowledged that other officers' statements were emailed to them and they reviewed the statements before writing their own. Senior Constable Chirichilli told the court that Sergeant Wagner was "taking the lead" in investigating the assault allegations against Mrs Scarlett-Rhodes, as well as being the alleged victim of her actions, and the subject of a complaint made by Mrs Scarlett-Rhodes. Asked whether she thought that was inappropriate, Senior Constable Chirichilli said: "I didn't think that it was inappropriate at the time". The hearing continues.