NSW Police officer keeps job after being found guilty of assaulting hospital patient

A NSW Police officer has kept his job despite being found guilty of assaulting a man who was being wheeled into hospital on a gurney by paramedics.

ABC News has obtained exclusive CCTV and body-worn camera vision of the assault, which happened at Blacktown Hospital in November 2023.

Leading Senior Constable Steven Hyde and his partner on the day, Constable Talaisai Alo, had been called to a man's Western Sydney home, where they found him unconscious after a suspected drug overdose.

An ambulance was called and paramedics managed to rouse the man before taking him to Blacktown Hospital for observation.

The man was not under arrest, but the two police officers escorted them to the hospital.

When they arrived, CCTV footage from the hospital shows the man being wheeled into the emergency department in the ambulance bay, with his legs strapped to the gurney.

He was holding a vape in one hand and a water bottle in the other when Officer Hyde approached and confiscated the vape.

The man then threw the water bottle over his shoulder, prompting Officer Hyde to react by hitting him in the side of the head.

Officer Alo then grabs the man and restrains him, shortly before his body-worn camera begins recording audio of the incident.

The man can be heard saying, "I put water on you" before asking the officer to let go of his arm.

The officer tells the man, "I'll f***ing rip your shoulder off if you don't listen to me", before handcuffing the man behind his back.

The officer then tells the man he is being charged with assaulting police, before wheeling him into the hospital as he says, "Keep your head down, no-one deserves to look at you."

The body camera vision ends as the man is wheeled into the emergency room.

Officer claims he acted in self-defence

An ambulance officer who witnessed the incident later gave a statement to police, saying she also heard one of the police officers say to the man inside the hospital: "Why do you want to go home? No-one cares about you."

She did not specify which officer said it.

Officer Hyde was later charged with assault for hitting the man in the head.

Officer Alo has not been charged over the incident.

Officer Hyde, who had been a police officer for more than a decade, faced a local court hearing earlier this year, where he tendered a written statement claiming he acted in self-defence.

"Almost immediately after I turned, I felt something strike my right shoulder and back area … my initial belief was that [the victim] had assaulted me," his statement said.

"I was very concerned that his behaviour had now escalated and he would continue his assault upon me.

"To prevent this happening, I turned and struck [the victim]."

Officer Hyde said the man "appeared to be drug-affected" and his response was based on "extensive experience dealing with people affected by drugs".

"It is my experience that many illegal drugs that are extensively used on the street result in people becoming extremely unpredictable, irrational and violent," his statement said.

"When [the victim] regained consciousness, he was immediately argumentative … he was swearing and aggressive, although not directly threatening to me."

Officer Hyde was found guilty of assault by a Local Court Judge earlier this year before he appealed the conviction and sentence in the District Court.

This week, a District Court judge again found him guilty of assault but opted not to record a conviction against him.

The judge sentenced him to a 12-month good behaviour bond.

A statement from NSW Police this week said Officer Hyde remains on the force and was "subject to management action" in June.

"The officer has also been subjected to a loss of rank, two years of restricted duties and will be required to undertake retraining under a management plan," a spokesperson said in the statement.

"Police will continue to monitor the actions of the officer and undertake regular reviews of his conduct."