Sickening footage reveals moment off-duty police officer’s face is stomped on during ‘barbaric’ assault in Sydney’s inner west

WARNING: Distressing content. The sound of an off-duty police officer’s head cracking against the pavement after his face was stomped on during a “barbaric” attack could be heard from a balcony above the busy road, sickening footage played in court has revealed. Finley Goodwin, 23, Koby Weaver, 21, and Danai Deneiderhavsei, 19 have all pleaded guilty to their roles in the attacking of two off-duty police officers in Sydney’s inner west last January. The officers, Jack Steen and Lachlan Gray, were walking home from a concert along Enmore Rd in Newtown when they were set upon, with a prosecutor describing the attack as “unprovoked” and “quite brutal” in court. Mr Steen was knocked to the ground in the roadway outside Oporto on Enmore Rd in Newtown at some stage, with Weaver stomping on his face with “extreme force”. The vicious act instantly knocked the 25-year-old out, leaving him with skull fractures and a brain bleed. The sound of his head cracking against the pavement could be heard from a unit above the busy road, with the video played to the court several times on Friday afternoon. Weaver pleaded guilty to reckless grievous bodily harm in company; Deneiderhavsei pleaded guilty to two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in company of others, larceny, and reckless grievous bodily harm; and Goodwin pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm in company of others. Judge Greg Grogin said the men had “acted in a pack” to carry out the “barbaric attack” while sentencing the trio on Friday afternoon. Sheriffs stood in the doorway as Weaver was sentenced to two years imprisonment over his “deplorable” act. “Your actions are deplorable. You saw it on the screen …(the officer) not only saw it, he felt it, and he experienced all the harm and injuries you inflicted,” Judge Grogan said. “(You) put people’s lives at risk. It was totally inappropriate, and caused major injury.” He quoted an old saying among criminal lawyers that “once the boot goes in, so do you”. “It is an act of cowardice. Brutal, unnecessary, and was the major contributor to those injuries that were sustained by Mr Steen,” he said. Weaver was able to hug his family and friends before he was walked out of court by the sheriffs, with Goodwin bursting into tears. His lawyer launched an 11th-hour bail application shortly after and indicated she would appeal the decision, however the bail application was dismissed by Judge Grogan. Weaver will be eligible for release on parole next February. Judge Grogan found special circumstances in sentencing, backdating Weaver’s prison term and varying his non-parole period given he had already spent 65 days in custody. He also found Weaver had expressed remorse and regret. Goodwin and Deneiderhavsei were each fined $2,200 and each handed down a 12-month intensive correction order, to be served in the community, and 18-month community correction orders. They are also barred from consuming alcohol and drugs for five months. Deneiderhavsei also copped a $440 fine for stealing $20 worth of food from Oporto right before the assault, with Judge Grogan saying he had “deemed himself to be a hero” by stealing the food and dubbing it a “ridiculous situation”. Attacker laughed and said ‘fight me’ during assault The officers, both aged 25, had been walking home from a concert at the Enmore Theatre around 11pm when they came across the young men near the Oporto. The three men had been arguing loudly before Deneiderhavsei shouldered Mr Grey as he and Mr Steen were walking by, with Mr Steen telling the group “it’s fine, we’re just going to leave it, eat your food”. Mr Steen pushed Deneiderhavsei to try and put some distance between them before the attack began, with Judge Grogan saying the officers were at all times trying to “retreat”. Goodwin punched Mr Steen several times even after he fell to the ground, Judge Grogan told the court on Friday. Deneiderhavsei was also overheard laughing and yelling things like “fight me, you’re a f**king p**sy” and “you shouldn’t have f**ked around” during the melee, the court was told. An off-duty nurse rushed in to perform CPR on Mr Steen, with Judge Grogan commending her actions while expressing amazement by the “apparent indifference” of others in the area. Paramedics rushed both men to hospital, with Mr Steen suffering a brain bleed and skull fractures while Mr Gray suffered two black eyes and a face laceration. The court was also told Deneiderhavsei “justified his actions” and “blamed the victims” in a sentencing assessment report, and minimised the nature of the offence by saying “these things happen in the city”. He also said he was “too busy” for community service work, the report states. The trio’s lawyers had argued the young men should serve their sentences through community orders rather than in prison, pointing to their young age, lack of criminal history, and good behaviour following their release on bail following the attack. Judge Grogan said while their behaviour was “disgraceful”, they have “come to learn the errors of their way by taking individual actions” and “taken ownership of their actions to an extent”.