A CURTIN University law professor and his partner have been awarded more than $1 million in damages in the WA District Court over an arrest and tasering by police.

Robert Cunningham and Catherine Atoms took legal action against the State of WA and three police officers claiming they had been falsely imprisoned and assaulted following an incident outside the Esplanade Hotel in Fremantle in November 2008.

The couple were tasered and restrained by officers during the incident.

They had alleged their treatment by three officers attached to the Fremantle police station constituted battery and assault, breaches of duty of care, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution in the Magistrate’s Court.

After a long-running civil trial, Judge Felicity Davis found in their favour.

The couple were cleared in 2010 of charges of obstructing a public officer, which came after an incident outside the Esplanade Hotel early on November 2, 2008.

They had been celebrating Dr Cunningham’s birthday when they stopped to help a stranger who had fallen into bushes by the road.

In 2010, Magistrate Geoff Lawrence dismissed charges against the couple and awarded them $15,000 costs after finding the testimony of the arresting officer “lacked such credibility and reliability that it should be totally rejected”.

The magistrate said police grabbed Ms Atoms’ arm for “no lawful reason” and when Dr Cunningham intervened, he was handcuffed and both of them were shot with a Taser gun.

The civil suit was against Simon Traynor, Peter James Clark, Glenn Alexander Caldwell and the State of WA.

The decision was handed down in the WA District Court on Friday.

The couple's lawyer, Maurice Blackburn principal, Phil Gleeson, said today's finding was an important milestone in his clients’ long battle to have the behaviour of the police that night scrutinised.

“Being tasered, handcuffed, arrested and charged in what amounted to an unlawful arrest and use of weapons has had a profound effect on my clients’ lives," he said. "They took on this civil suit after many years of unsuccessfully trying to bring the wrongful arrest and behaviour of the police to the attention of the various authorities so they could be independently investigated and appropriately addressed.

“Her Honour has meticulously considered all the evidence in this case. She has concluded that police had no lawful basis to arrest my clients that evening and their mistake was compounded by their poor behaviour and treatment of Dr Cunningham and Ms Atoms afterwards.”

“Hopefully, today’s finding will lead to permanent change and reform in how law enforcement is applied and monitored in WA.”

WA Police Union President George Tilbury said the union would assess Judge Davis’ reasons when they are published on December 15 as well as consider the merits of an appeal.

He added the union would continue to support the officers involved.