Newspaper columnist and author Aaron Patrick was chased down a Sydney street after allegedly kicking a dog outside a pub
An award-winning newspaper columnist and author was chased on foot for a block down a busy Sydney street after allegedly kicking a dog outside an inner-city hotel.
Australian Financial Review journalist Aaron Patrick has claimed he feared for his safety after an encounter with three strangers near the Colombian Hotel in Oxford Street, Darlinghurst.
Patrick had been walking past the pub when he became involved in an altercation with the owner of a dog and another man and woman, all three of whom were friends.
The dog, called Rosie, has been described as looking like a Pitbull or Staffordshire Bull Terrier.
What happened next will be established at a hearing next year but a court heard further allegations on Wednesday when police challenged a subpoena issued by Patrick.
The 52-year-old had sought the criminal records of the dog owner and his companions, as well as any communication between police and a media outlet.
In particular, Patrick wanted to know if the three witnesses had convictions for offences of dishonesty, violence or intimidation.
Australian Financial Review journalist Aaron Patrick has claimed he feared for his safety after an encounter with three strangers near the Colombian Hotel in Oxford Street, Darlinghurst. He is accused of kicking a dog described as looking like a Pitbull or Staffordshire Bull Terrier
After allegedly kicking a dog called Rosie outside a pub Patrick was chased down Oxford Street by the animal’s owner and his friend until they detained him at this Chemist Warehouse on the corner of Riley Street
Downing Centre Local Court heard the Daily Telegraph had published a story on August 23 revealing Patrick had been charged with animal cruelty, nine months after the event.
Patrick’s solicitor Trudie Cameron submitted the article contained information which was not then publicly available and questioned whether it had been supplied by police to tarnish her client’s reputation.
Patrick is billed as the ‘senior correspondent’ for the AFR where he writes about politics and business from the paper’s Sydney newsroom.
He has previously written for The New York Times, The Washington Post and Wall Street Journal, having started his journalistic career on Melbourne’s Herald-Sun.
The journalist appeared on the court list charged under his full name, Aaron Odysseus Patrick. He has used the byline A. Odysseus Patrick when writing for foreign publications.
Odysseus is a legendary Greek king renowned for his intellect, guile and versatility and the hero of Homer’s epic work The Odyssey.
The original Daily Telegraph story reported Patrick had been charged with kicking a dog on Oxford Street outside a hotel on the evening of Saturday, November 27.
Patrick, 52, a senior correspondent with the Australian Financial Review, was charged with animal cruelty after he allegedly kicked a dog. Patrick (above) has pleaded not guilty
On Wednesday it was revealed the clash occurred in broad daylight, about 3pm.
‘The man was chased into a nearby business where he was detained by two men,’ a police spokeswoman had said.
‘Officers from Surry Hills Police Area Command attended and spoke with a 51-year-old man.
The journalist appears on the court list under his full name, Aaron Odysseus Patrick. Odysseus was a legendary Greek king (above)
‘He was arrested and taken to Surry Hills Police Station where he was charged with commit an act of cruelty upon an animal.
‘The North Sydney man was given conditional bail.’
Patrick had responded with his own brief statement identifying himself as the charged man.
‘A plea of not guilty has been entered,’ he said. ‘I was fearful for my safety and sought to protect myself. The matter will be defended.’
Ms Cameron confirmed on Wednesday self-defence would be raised when the case was heard in April next year.
She said Patrick’s shin had made contact with the dog and there had been an altercation with its owner and his two friends.
He had kicked the dog once outside the Colombian then again after he fled across Crown Street.
The dog’s owner and his male friend had then chased Patrick down Oxford Street until they performed a citizen’s arrest at the Chemist Warehouse on the corner of Riley Street.
Patrick had been walking past the Colombian when he became involved in an altercation with the owner of a dog and another man and woman, all three of whom were friends. He was chased down this strip of Oxford Street
Ms Cameron said there were no visible injuries to Rosie and there was no veterinary evidence.
‘There’s no evidence of injury; it could have been that the dog was injured but we just don’t know,’ she said.
Ms Cameron said the testimony of the three witnesses would be contested and her client was at a disadvantaged because police had not sought CCTV footage from outside the Colombian.
Magistrate Gareth Christofi wanted to know Rosie’s breed. When Ms Cameron said she appeared to be a ‘Staffy or Pitbull’ Mr Christofi replied: ‘No shrinking violet of a dog’.
Patrick is represented by Trudie Cameron, practice director at Armstrong Legal
‘Sounds like a very unfortunate incident,’ the magistrate said.
Stephen Warren, for the Commissioner of Police, described Rosie as ‘extremely placid’ and said she had been waiting with her owner at traffic lights while on a leash.
Ms Cameron countered that while Rosie might not appear ‘overly aggressive’ there was a public perception that some breeds of dogs were inherently dangerous.
She said the officer in charge of the investigation had told her client words to the effect of, ‘I might have assaulted you too if you kicked my dog’ as he was arresting him.
Ms Cameron said Patrick also claimed that officer had threatened to put him in a headlock if he didn’t use the fingerprinting machine correctly back at Surry Hills police station.
Patrick further alleged that during his police interview he had been placed under ‘inappropriate pressure’.
Ms Cameron submitted the officer in charge might have subsequently felt some animosity or malice towards Patrick which contributed to information about the incident being published nine months later.
The officer in charge has stated he had no communication with journalists.
Lawyer Trudie Cameron said the testimony of the three witnesses would be contested and her client was at a disadvantaged because police had not sought CCTV footage from outside the Colombian.
Mr Christofi said there were plenty of other explanations of how Patrick’s arrest eventually came to be published including a ‘muckraker’ going to the media.
He found there was no ‘rational basis’ to form the view the officer in charged leaked the information and any suggestion that had happened was ‘entirely speculative’.
Ms Cameron withdrew her request for the criminal histories of the dog owner and his friends when Mr Warren said they did not have records.
Mr Christofi declined to order the handover of communication between police and the media in relation to Patrick’s arrest, declaring it a ‘fishing expedition’.
Patrick is an Arts graduate of the University of Sydney where he studied politics, and completed a Master in Public Administration at Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
He is a committee member of the Harvard Club of Australia and past honorary treasurer of the Foreign Press Association in London.
His Linkedin profile states Patrick is the author of the best-read article in the history of afr.com – an October 2019 piece titled ‘Australia is rich, dumb and getting dumber’.
As well as writing for the Nine newspaper, Patrick also penned the book ‘Ego: Malcolm Turnbull and the Liberal Party’s Civil War’ which was released in June.
He has also published works on the previous Morrison government, the downfall of the Labor Party after the Rudd-Gillard era and the unravelling of Tony Abbott’s government.
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