Mitchell’s defence will revolve around the heavy-handed police conduct during the arrest that resulted in both men being charged with failing to comply with an exclusion direction and fighting in a public place. Mitchell was also charged with resisting a territory public official.
Prosecutor Sam Bargwanna accused the duo of fighting outside the Fiction nightclub after Wighton was removed from the venue by police due to his upset facial expression,angry demeanour and clenched fists.
Police then allegedly intervened to break up the fight and arrest Mitchell,while reminding Wighton he had been issued with an exclusion direction and to leave.
Wighton allegedly responded “lock me up with him,you’re f---wits”,before he was also arrested.
But Mitchell’s lawyer Jack Pappas said the police had acted inappropriately in their dealings,suggesting it was “a sad parody of what proper police conduct needed to be”.
Footage from police body-worn cameras will show Mitchell encouraging people filming his arrest to share it on social media,Pappas told the court.