A couple who were tasered by police in Fremantle eight years ago have been awarded more than $1 million in damages after suing the state for false imprisonment and assault.

Catherine Atoms and Robert Cunningham were walking past the Esplanade Hotel at night in November 2008 when they stopped to help a man lying in bushes nearby.

Police arrived shortly afterwards and tasered the couple, before handcuffing them and charging them with obstructing a public officer.

The charges were later dismissed, however the couple took civil action against the State Government and three police officers.

Today, District Court Judge Felicity Davis found in favour of the plaintiffs, ruling the couple was subjected to battery, false imprisonment and misfeasance in public office.

Ms Atoms has been awarded $1,024,822.11.

Dr Cunningham, an associate professor at Curtin University's Law School, will receive $110,304.10.

"For a lawyer, and particularly one who holds a teaching position at a university law faculty, the experience of being wrongly arrested, handcuffed, manhandled, tasered, deprived of his liberty and then charged with a criminal offence must be particularly humiliating, embarrassing and stressful," Judge Davis said in her judgment.

"I find that it was in Dr Cunningham's case, even though the offence of obstructing a public officer was not a serious offence."

The judge is expected to make her final orders on the case next week, after lawyers challenged the methodology used to calculate damages.

'Excessive, disproportionate force'

Judge Davis disputed much of the evidence provided in the case by the three police officers, Simon Traynor, Peter Clark and Glenn Caldwell. Mr Caldwell has since retired.

She said Ms Atoms was not angry or aggressive towards police, but was "calm and composed as seen on the CCTV footage" as she tried to help the man in the bushes.

"I find that Officer Traynor could not deal with the fact that Ms Atoms was questioning what he said and that he might have been wrong," she said.

"Unfortunately, as counsel for the plaintiffs described, this was the precursor for everything which followed."

Judge Davis said Dr Cunningham's arrest was made with "excessive and disproportionate" force by Officers Traynor and Clark.

She also found Mr Caldwell's tasering of the pair was "neither reasonable nor appropriate".

She went on to note there was a culture at Fremantle Police Station in 2008 of "antipathy towards members of the public".

There was a culture among police in Fremantle of antipathy towards members of the public, the judge said. ( ABC News )

At various times throughout the judgment, she described the police officers' evidence as inconsistent, unreliable, inaccurate and implausible.

She said Dr Cunningham and Ms Atoms had both experienced post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the officers' actions.

More than $650,000 of the damages awarded to Ms Atoms were to compensate for loss of earning capacity.

The couple's lawyer Phil Gleeson said they were relieved by the decision.

"The police made big mistakes on November 2, 2008," he said.

"They're absolutely relieved, pleased that her honour made such a meticulous review of all the facts and all the evidence.

"It's taken us over eight years to prove something we knew on day one ... we must work together to stop this type of thing happening, particularly to less privileged members of our society."

In a statement, the WA Police Union said it would consider the merits of an appeal and continue to support the officers involved.