Gold Coast man awarded $2000 over violent pushbike arrest

Queensland Police have been ordered to pay a man $2000 after he was tackled and arrested after riding his pushbike down the steps of a Gold Coast RSL on Anzac Day.

John Beard was arrested after police chased him and tackled him to the ground on April 25 outside of Southport RSL club for not wearing a helmet while riding his bike.

Police had claimed Mr Beard punched a police officer who approached him for not wearing a helmet, the Gold Coast Bulletin reports.

But CCTV footage showed officers chase Mr Beard and tackle him to the ground outside the RSL.

It was found officers had used excessive force when arrested him.

Charges including assaulting or obstructing a police officer, serious assault of a police officer causing bodily harm and failing to wear a bicycle helmet were dropped in Southport Magistrates Court.

It was also revealed that the officer that arrested him, Senior Constable Nathan Irwin, has been referred for further disciplinary action and is under investigation.

Mr Beard has made an official complaint to the Crime and Corruption Commission, and his lawyer Campbell MacCallum says his client should not have been charged.

"It seems Mr Beard was just having a bit of a joke – he'd had a few drinks on Anzac Day, he rode his bike down the footpath a distance and didn't have his helmet on," he told the Bulletin.

The CCC says it has refereed the matter back to the Queensland Police Service for handling, while Mr Beard was awarded $2000 in court costs.