No police action against Richmond’s Dustin Martin over altercation with womanMark Buttler and Sam Landsberger
Herald Sun
December 23, 2015 [/i]
RICHMOND’S Dustin Martin still faces action from the AFL and his club despite police clearing him over his drunken altercation with a woman.
The woman claimed Martin had threatened to stab her with a chopstick, but police told the midfielder they had determined “no criminal offence took place”.
The woman had decided not to make a statement to police for fear of being identified in any potential future court proceedings.
But the woman said the AFL and Richmond should now press on with their inquiry, with which she has co-operated.
She said that the league needed to take a tough stand against men who behaved aggressively towards women.
“He’s done the wrong thing and should still face punishment from the AFL,” she said.
“They need to take a stand against violence towards women. And that I hope the AFL learn from this and change their procedures so that other victims can feel confident in making reports and be able to trust that the processes in place has genuine care for the welfare of the person making a complaint.”
Police reviewed CCTV footage and spoke to several witnesses. Picture: Steward McLean
Martin has apologised to the woman over the incident at Chapel St’s trendy Mr Miyagi on December 5.
Victoria Police said it took all reports of violence towards women seriously and investigated complaints thoroughly.
A Victoria Police statement said: “Detectives from Stonnington Criminal Investigation Unit have conducted an extensive investigation after reports a woman was threatened by a man at a Chapel Street restaurant in Windsor on 5 December.”
“After reviewing CCTV footage and speaking to all parties involved, including numerous independent witnesses at the restaurant on the night, investigators determined that no criminal offence took place.
“Police take all reports of violence towards women seriously and investigate all complaints thoroughly.”
Richmond and the AFL had put any potential sanctions against Martin on hold until after the police investigation.
Richmond said Martin, 24, must wait for the AFL to finish its investigation before learning of any sanction, which could include a hefty suspension.
“I imagine they’ll talk to police now that the police have wound it up and then they’ll come back to us. Until such time we’ve got nothing to comment on,” a spokesman said.
Martin’s manager declined to comment.
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