A JURY has acquitted Constable Norman Hoy of assaulting millionaire Yasser Shahin — and the judge in the trial says the case should never have gone ahead.

In a highly unusual move, District Court Judge Paul Rice this afternoon asked his opinion of the Const Hoy prosecution be passed on to Director of Public Prosecutions Adam Kimber, SC.

With jurors still present, Judge Rice said the case had effectively wasted two weeks of court time because it had no reasonable prospect of ever convicting Constable Hoy.

He said a “proper assessment” of the evidence, prior to trial, would have shown that.

“Merely because someone said something happened in a particular way is not sufficient reason for it to proceed if there is no reasonable prospect of conviction — and that’s certainly my view,” he said.

“It was not in the public interest to pursue this matter in this court.”

The jury of four men and eight women took just 75 minutes to find Const. Hoy, 59, not guilty of assaulting Mr Shahin in September 2010.

Const Hoy wept in the dock as the verdict was announced and, once released into the public gallery, clutched his wife’s hand and continued to cry.

At the start of the trial, he had pleaded not guilty to one count of aggravated assault.

Prosecutors alleged he exceeded his lawful authority as a police officer while defecting the 2008 Rolls Royce that Mr Shahin was driving through the Adelaide CBD for having windows that were too dark.

Mr Shahin’s family company, the Peregrine Corporation, owns several of the state’s most profitable retail businesses including On the Run, Smoke Mart and Krispy Kreme.

He told jurors Const Hoy was “hostile” and “hellbent” on bullying him, and had “shoved and grabbed” him.

Const Hoy’s counsel suggested Mr Shahin did “everything in his power” to ensure he was charged, including calling senior SA Police officers and demanding action.

Mr Shahin’s wife said she felt “unsafe and uncomfortable” during the incident, while Const Hoy’s patrol partner claimed the businessman was trying to “intimidate” him.

In his evidence, Const Hoy told jurors he had “no choice” but to grab Mr Shahin because the “intimidating, threatening” businessman would not obey his directions.

He denied prosecution suggestions he engaged in “a power play” with the businessman to show that he “was the boss”.

After the jury delivered its verdict, Judge Rice spoke directly to prosecutor Nick Healy — who is an independent lawyer, not a DPP staff member, hired to conduct the case.

“Obviously I accept that you are prosecuting on instructions from the Director, but I ask that it be conveyed to those that instruct you my views about this case,” he said.

He said the case should have only progressed in the Magistrates Court, with a less-serious charge, if it went ahead at all.

“This court has now been occupied for the better part of two weeks in a matter that could have been dealt with, if it had to be, in a shorter matter in the Magistrates Court,” he said.

“I wholeheartedly agree with the verdict, it’s a verdict I would have had no hesitation arriving at had it been up to me.”

This afternoon, Acting DPP Ian Press, SC, said he would “not be making any comment at this time”.

In a statement e-mailed to The Advertiser, Mr Shahin said he respected the decision of the court.

“In spite of the personal and emotional cost to my family, I do not regret pursuing this matter,” he said.

“However, the decision to prosecute was made independently by the DPP after consideration of all the facts.

“It is regrettable the jury did not agree with the prosecution that his conduct amounted to aggravated assault.”

Mr Shahin said he had extremely high regard for SA Police.

“I remain firmly of the view that the officer’s behaviour was inappropriate and I was genuinely affronted by what happened,” he said.

Const Hoy declined to comment outside court — Police Association of SA President Mark Carroll said the officer was “very emotional and relieved”.

“One thing we in the police community are delighted with today is that a District Court jury has found a hardworking, long-serving, hero police officer innocent of any wrongdoing,” he said.

“The result is correct and it delivers justice — finally.

“Norman Hoy was always innocent of any wrongdoing ... he did nothing but undertake the lawful, dedicated role that his employer and the community expected him to undertake.

“He assaulted no one, he disrespected no one and he failed no one.”

Mr Carroll said that, in September, Const. Hoy was hailed a hero for averting a potential South-Eastern Freeway tragedyby safely guiding an out-of-control semi trailer through heavy traffic.

“That Norman undertook that heroic act on the freeway at a time when he had already suffered four years of stress is a credit to his dedication and resilience,” he said.

“To see Norman in that context and then see him, as I have over these recent weeks, suffer the indignity of sitting in the dock was outrageous.

“If this is what we, as a society, think is an appropriate way to treat police officers then something is seriously wrong.”

However, he said he “did not believe” the public thought that way, and questioned the reasonableness of the DPP’s approach to the case.

Mr Carroll said the cost of the trial, to taxpayers, was likely to run into “hundreds of thousands of dollars” all because a police officer “grabbed a shirt”.

“The time, input, resources and funding which went into this trial, and the lead-up to it, have amounted to a lamentable waste,” he said.

“All of us have had to pay a high cost for a totally unnecessary prosecution of an innocent police officer.”

He said a SA Police analysis of the case found there was no reason to prosecute Const Hoy.

“We urged the DPP, more than two years ago, to use the powers available to him to terminate the prosecution and he rejected our urging,” he said.

“Decisions like this undermine police confidence in the DPP and impact on police officer morale.

“I would suggest that any future complaints the DPP makes about lacking resources should receive a very health dose of scepticism.”

Mr Carroll said Const Hoy’s case came to the right conclusion because of the audio recording he made of his encounter with Mr Shahin.

“It’s disturbing to think that, had Norman not (recorded it), we might well be talking about a different outcome today,” he said.

“The evidence drawn from that recording was critical in proving the allegations false.

“The Police Association now calls on, and will lobby, the State Government to provide SA Police with urgent funding for body-worn video for all frontline police officers.”

Mr Carroll said the purchasing and use of that equipment was “long overdue”.

He said Const Hoy’s legal team would now pursue avenues of “scrutinising” the decisions made by the DPP and all involved in the case.

He said he did not know whether Const. Hoy would file a lawsuit seeking damages for wrongful prosecution, saying that was a matter for the legal team.