An anti-vaccine protester and failed South Australian Senate candidate has been found guilty of assaulting a police officer in 2021.
District Court Judge Jo-Anne Deuter found Raina Jane Cruise intentionally harmed a female police officer in the Adelaide CBD in 2021, in an attack that left the officer with clumps of hair pulled out and facial bruising.
Constable Anthea Beck and a colleague were tasked to investigate an altercation involving a group of people and security guards at the Exeter Hotel, on Rundle Street.
Cruise had earlier pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault against two security guards.
During the trial, Cruise had claimed her arrest was unlawful, but in her verdict Judge Deuter rejected that claim.
She said she was satisfied that Constable Beck tried to inform the accused of why she was being arrested, which was for failing to provide her identification.
“Her aggressive response meant that Beck immediately encountered a situation where she had to physically manage the accused’s attack upon her.”
Judge Deuter said even without sound, CCTV vision of the incident showed the aggression of Ms Cruise towards Constable Beck.
“In a time span of just two seconds, the accused moved aggressively towards Beck and swung her arm at her, knocking off her police hat,” she said.
“Within six seconds she has grabbed Beck’s hair and started to drag her to the ground.”
Prosecutor Greg Dudzinski asked the court to revoke Cruise’s bail due to her history of other violent offending, which included an earlier assault on a police officer.
Cruise’s lawyer, Andrew Graham, said the prior offences were not “the most serious”, and sought a three-month adjournment to get a psychological report for Cruise.
“Cruise has gone through more in her life than most people have, including having an infant child pass away at a very young age and her husband die of an accident,” he said.
“It might very well be that the alcohol issues which have led to some of the matters on the antecedent record are explained against that background.
“It’s my submission that this isn’t a matter that necessarily would result in an immediate term of imprisonment.”
Cruise ran in the 2022 federal election for the Informed Medical Options Party, campaigning for bodily autonomy, and was a regular at anti-vaccination rallies.
Her party received 2,248 votes.
Judge Deuter remanded Cruise on continuing bail to return to court at a date to be set.
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