Two police officers who “abusively arrested” a man following a chase in an unmarked car more than two decades ago have been ordered to pay just over €6,000 to cover the damage that occurred to equipment in the man’s quarry while he was under arrest.

Since the September 1995 incident, one of the officers, Superintendent Paul Vassallo, has retired from the Police Force, while the other, Superintendent Antonello Grech, still serves in Gozo.

Magistrate Paul Coppini declared the arrest to be an “abusive” one and ruled that the two officers were responsible for the damage John Mizzi suffered to his equipment.

It was 7pm on September 22, 1995, when Mr Mizzi, at the wheel of his truck, made a U-turn in Triq il-Kapuċċini. A red, unmarked car was driving by at the time and a person inside drew his attention to the manoeuvre. Mr Mizzi gave him the middle finger and the person in the red car emerged from the vehicle.

Mr Mizzi once again gave him the middle finger and sped off. A chase ensued. Mr Mizzi drove through a couple of one-way streets in the direction of the Victoria fire station, which at the time was manned by a police officer.

One of the streets was blocked, so he grabbed a penknife that he kept in his truck, abandoned the vehicle and ran towards the fire station, with four men in hot pursuit.

When he got to the station, he told the police officer that four men were chasing him, but when the four arrived and identified themselves as police officers, he did not resist them.

Supt. Grech kicked Mr Mizzi in the leg and dropped him to the ground when he saw that he was brandishing a penknife. But during the altercation, Supt. Vassallo suffered a laceration to his face that required five sutures.

Mr Mizzi was arrested and taken to the Victoria police station and held for 48 hours until his court arraignment, charged with seriously injuring a police officer, violently resisting the police, making offensive gestures, disobeying police orders, breaching traffic regulations, driving dangerously and being in possession of a penknife without a licence.

Mr Mizzi once again gave him the middle finger and sped off. A chase ensued

He was not granted bail and was kept in preventive custody for five days. It rained heavily over those five days, and Mr Mizzi’s quarry flooded with more than five feet of water. It took fire engines days to empty it.

Mr Mizzi was eventually cleared of the first three charges when a court ruled that he had not caused the injury and after hearing the officers confirm on oath that Mr Mizzi had never threatened them with the penknife or waved it in their direction. He was fined €46 for the minor contraventions.

This judgment was confirmed on appeal, which, however, added a three-week suspension of his driving licence for negligent driving.

Mr Mizzi and his wife, Elisabeth, filed a civil suit against the four police officers in the car, holding them responsible for the damage to the equipment in the quarry while he was under preventive arrest.

Before Magistrate Coppini, the Mizzis argued that the arrest had been abusive and that the police should never have instituted criminal proceedings against Mr Mizzi.

In his initial statement to the police, Mr Mizzi said the officers were not wearing the police uniform and the CID car they were using was unmarked.

He said he thought the officers were men from Mqabba with whom he had had an argument. He also insisted that he drew the penknife to defend himself until the men identified themselves as police officers.

Supt. Grech and Supt. Vassallo told the court that at no time did Mr Mizzi threaten them with the knife.

Supt. Grech added that he had explained the circumstances of the case to his superiors, who ordered him to issue the criminal charges anyway and let the court decide on the matter.

Magistrate Coppini found that both Supts. Grech and Vassallo were responsible for the abusive arrest and, consequently, for the damage to the equipment.

He said police officers Michael Portelli and Vincent Apap, who were also in the car and participated in the chase, were not responsible for the arrest, since it was a decision taken by Mr Grech and Mr Vassallo, who at the time were inspectors.

According to receipts presented in court, the Mizzis spent €6,014.33 on repairs to the damaged equipment. He ordered Supts. Grech and Vassallo to pay this amount.

The Mizzis also claimed €47,000 in other damages, because the quarry could not be used after the flooding and because Mr Mizzi had lost his clients.

However, Magistrate Coppini found that this claim had not been backed by any evidence and turned it down.

Lawyer Tonio Azzopardi appeared for the Mizzis.