Six British soldiers charged after off-duty New York policeman is beaten up in bar brawl after making alleged racial slur



The accused are from Fiji but are based in Edinburgh and were on an Army rugby tour of the US



One is accused of snatching officer's phone as he called for help

The group allegedly punched the man, knocked him to the ground, beat him and cut him with a knife



Men to appear before judge in Manhattan accused of third degree assault

The men had just played the NYPD as part of their rugby tour



Six British Army rugby players have been accused of beating up an off-duty New York policeman during a 4am bar brawl.

A court in Manhattan heard that the soldiers from the 1st Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland allegedly punched the officer to the floor then carried on hitting him as his friend tried to stop them.

As the brawl carried on down the street, it left blood splattered along half a block until the officer pulled out a knife and slashed one of his attackers.

In court: Joeli Raduva, left, and Thomas Shute , right, are accused of third degree assault



The men, who are all from Fiji but are based in Edinburgh, are part of an Army rugby team on a tour of the US East Coast.

They claimed that they lashed out when the policeman called one of them a ‘black b******’.

Assault charge: 34-year-old Private Felite Vunisarat is one of the soldiers who allegedly attacker the off-duty officer

The court was told that when he identified himself as a policeman and ordered them to back off during the confrontation last Friday, they responded: ‘We don’t care. F*** the police.’

The soldiers – Private Iliakini Raderua, 30, Corporal Thomas Shute, 34, Private Felite Vunisarati, 34, Private Mosese Kuruala, 27, and Private Joeli Raduva, 34 – are accused of third degree assault.

Lance Corporal Iosefo Yavala, 33, is also accused of second degree robbery, a more serious offence, after he was allegedly found carrying the officer’s mobile phone which was taken during the brawl.



The soldiers, whose regimental motto is No One Provokes Me With Impunity, were due to play against a team from the New York Police Department on Wednesday, but they are now being held in the notorious Rikers Island prison after failing to post bail of $25,000 (just over £16,000)

In court they stood next to each other dressed in white T-shirts and shorts or trousers.

Prosecutor Emily Logue said that the row began at the Mercury Bar in Manhattan when Yavala ‘bumped into the victim and began yelling at him’.

The group then allegedly ‘surrounded’ the officer and Kuruala ‘punched him in the face, causing him to fall down’ and the others rained down blows as his friend tried to help him up.