A FULL DAY has been set aside in court for a man to argue he was unlawfully arrested by police and the dog squad in the early hours of New Year's Day last year.
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Ryley Douglas Mackay, 25, did not appear in Tamworth Local Court last week when his hearing date had to be vacated due to COVID-19 and a new one was set.
Defence solicitor Harry Pendlebury confirmed Mackay had admitted to assaulting a man at a taxi rank in the Tamworth CBD on January 1 last year, before he was tracked down and arrested.
But, he said charges of assaulting and resisting police as well as escaping custody would be hotly contested.
"There will be some lengthy submissions made ... about the lawfulness of the arrest," he said.
Mr Pendlebury told the court the hearing was seriously needed and would take an entire day.
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Magistrate Julie Soars asked if discussions had been held to try and resolve issues, because it appeared on the face of it that the "most serious" charges had already been admitted to.
"I think the positions are fairly clear on both sides," Mr Pendlebury said.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Matt Pawsey told the court an offer had been put on the table but had been rejected.
The hearing was set as a special fixture in May.
Ms Soars warned lawyers that if they later applied to ditch the hearing she may not accept it because she wouldn't be listing any other matters on that day and it would make for a "terrible loss of time for the court".
Mackay has been on bail and had his conditions changed so he no longer needs to report to police.
The police case is that officers tracked Mackay to Bridge Street after he punched an older man at a taxi rank and caused him to hit his head on a bench.
He is then accused of struggling with police before managing to escape and run away, but the dog squad helped corner him a short time later.
Mackay was treated at hospital for injuries after he was arrested by police dog Alpha.
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