Police bodycam footage shows why young woman won $320,000 pay out from cops after being bailed up on the side of a street

A woman who spent six months in jail after a routine ‘stop and frisk’ by police has been awarded a $320,000 payout, with bodycam footage revealing the officer’s actions were unlawful.

The video shows Ebonie Madden being released on bail with her companion, Dylan Turner, on a South Penrith Street, in Sydney’s west, in 2019.

Mr Dylan is seen holding a black bag which is seized and searched by Senior Constable Michael Darnton and another officer.

But when Senior Constable Darnton discovers a knife, he places Mrs Madden in handcuffs – and she was later charged with resisting arrest, possession of a knife and theft.

“You are under arrest for keeping a knife in a public place,” Senior Constable Darnton told Ms Madden before Mr Turner intervened and said: “It’s mine, Chief.”

Senior Constable Darnton, who ignored the comment, later told the court that he and the other officer ‘did not hear’ Mr Turner.

The clip also shows a third officer, Danielle Munt, telling the pair: “that’s what happens when you run your mouth, you get searched.”

The officer later admitted in court that the comments were “unprofessional.”

Ms Madden spent six months behind bars in 2020, but in December 2022 won $320,000 in damages from NSW Police after a judge found Senior Constable Darnton had no reasonable grounds to justify carrying out a search.

The court also found that she had been the victim of malicious prosecution and false imprisonment, saying that “the clear inference is that Darnton’s motivation was other than a legitimate exercise of police powers.”

That verdict was upheld on appeal in February.

A spokesperson for the NSW Police told the newspaper ABC The force will review the Court of Appeal judgment and consider ways to improve the way they handle such cases.

In December 2022, Ms Madden won $320,000 after a judge ruled that Senior Constable Darnton had no reasonable grounds to justify carrying out a search

However, new data has revealed that there may be thousands of unlawful searches being conducted across the state.

Civil litigator and criminal defense lawyer Peter O’Brien and UNSW professor Vicki Sentas fear police officers are abusing their powers and say it is likely the vast majority of searches in the state are carried out unlawfully.

“(Australia) has one of the largest police populations per capita in the world… so when it’s a quiet night, police often feel the need to be proactive,” Mr O’Brien said.

“And what that actually means in many cases is that they exceed their target.”