Two New England police officers to face trial for assault and other charges

New England Senior Constable Adrian Robert Piovesan, aged 41, and Leading Senior Constable David John Henderson, aged 54, will fight a combined 11 charges in the NSW District Court.

The serving police officers were committed for trial on allegations stemming from alleged incidents in the New England in 2022.

The officers allegedly assaulted a person in the early hours of June 12, 2022, at Boggabilla.

The pair appeared in Armidale Local Court where magistrate Mark Richardson committed Henderson for trial on five charges, while Piovesan faces six charges in his trial.

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The court heard the trial will be moved to Sydney, and a trial date will be set once the cases are mentioned in August.

Piovesan will fight four counts of common assault; doing an act with intent to pervert the course of justice; and tampering with evidence with intent to mislead a judicial tribunal.

Henderson has denied his charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm; two counts of common assault; tampering with evidence with intent to mislead a judicial tribunal; and doing an act with intent to pervert the course of justice.

In June, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) confirmed the charges against the pair, after reviewing the briefs of evidence.

According to court documents, Henderson is accused of assault about 3.30am on June 12, last year, at Boggabilla; while he's accused of tampering with evidence and intending to mislead a judicial tribunal about 8.25am on June 17, last year, at Moree.

Charge papers show Piovesan is accused of assaults about 3.30am on June 12, last year, at Boggabilla.

He's also accused of concealing body worn video footage with intent to pervert the course of justice on the morning on June 17, last year, at Yetman.

Both officers are attached to the New England Police District, which is part of the Western Region, and were charged in December by senior police after an internal investigation.

At the time of charging both men, a spokesperson for NSW Police said the status of both officers was under review.

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