A FORMER police chief superintendent appeared "drunk" when he assaulted a man who was making a 999 call to report him behaving aggressively towards a woman, a court heard.
Owen Phillips was pushing his bike along Park Grove, in west Hull, on August 20, last year when he heard an "altercation" between a woman and a man later identified as retired chief superintendent Colin Andrews.
He told Manchester Crown Court the woman appeared "anxious" and "afraid" and heard her say "just leave me alone" before he intervened by calling police.
He said: "The male appeared to be behaving in a quite threatening and aggressive manner, and the female appeared to be quite frightened of him. She had a look of fear on her face."
Mr Phillips said he asked the woman if she wanted him to call police, which she did.
He said Mr Andrews said to him: "Don't worry about it mate, she's a lesbian and she's a s**g", and also made claims about the woman taking drugs.
He said Mr Andrews slapped the right side of his face, and he responded by swearing at him and raising his fist.
He said Mr Andrews, who also had a bike with him, pushed the front wheel into him in a "provocative gesture" and "smirked".
Asked to describe his demeanour, Mr Phillips said: "I thought there was something odd about him, that was based on the brief conversation, if I can call it that, I had with him.
"He seemed possibly drunk, I would say. Not completely drunk, not out of control, but heavy in his movements, red in his face."
Mr Phillips said Mr Andrews tried to taunt Mr Phillips about his employment status, saying: "I bet you don't work."
A recording of the 999 call was played to the jury, in which Mr Phillips – who was on his way to work at the time – was heard to reply: "I'm not unemployed mate, I work in a hostel."
Mr Andrews cycled off and turned down Princes Avenue before police arrived.
Community support officer Shaun Casson was waiting for takeaway food at Papa's Pizza, in Princes Avenue, with Sergeant Mick Stevenson when they received a call asking them to intercept a cyclist wanted over an alleged assault.
Mr Casson admitted to the court he had not been trained in the police stop manoeuvre he used to detain Mr Andrews, which caused him to fall off his bike onto the pavement.
Mr Casson said he shouted "Stop!" three times, and told the court: "I stood in the road and did what we call the 'Number One Stop'.
"I raised my right arm with my palm facing outwards. I shouted at the male to stop."
Mr Casson said after the collision, Mr Andrews immediately said to him: "You've just assaulted me. You don't have the powers to do that – you're a PCSO."
Tania Griffiths QC, defending, asked Mr Casson to demonstrate his arm signal to the jury, and he raised his right arm.
Miss Griffiths said: "It's not a Nazi salute, is it? Higher than that."
Mr Casson said: "I've not actually had any training to do that."
CCTV footage of the stop was played to the court.
Miss Griffiths said: "I don't think I saw your arm go up. Did it go up?"
"Yes, it did," Mr Casson replied. "It's not clear, but my arm is or was up at the time."
Miss Griffiths said: "You just went up to him, put your hand on his handlebars and pulled him off his bike, a 57-year-old male on a busy road."
The PCSO said his hand "did make contact with his chest".
Miss Griffiths said: "To do that to a middle-aged man, to get him off his bike in those circumstances is a highly dangerous manoeuvre, isn't it?"
"He rode into me," said Mr Casson.
Mr Casson said Sgt Stevenson asked him to return to their van while he spoke to Mr Andrews.
Mr Casson was with Sgt Stevenson when the officer arrested Mr Andrews on suspicion of assault at his then home in Hull at 8.50pm that day.
The woman involved in the incident in Park Grove, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, claims she was stalked and intimidated by Mr Andrews.
Mr Andrews, 58, denies rape, stalking, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, witness intimidation, harassment, and two counts of common assault.
The trial continues.
