An 84-year-old Sydney man who allegedly shot a cockatoo with a rifle because it had been harming his plants also threatened to kill the officer who arrested him, court documents state.
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A lawyer acting for Raffaele Butera on Thursday applied for the alleged offending to be dealt with under mental health provisions due to his client's dementia diagnosis.
Butera - who was supported by his son at Manly Local Court - has been charged with a string of offences including animal cruelty, intimidating police and possessing a firearm while unlicensed in relation to the January incident.
A neighbour called NSW Police when they found the bloodied cockatoo near Butera's Dee Why apartment building after hearing a shot ring out, the police facts state.
It is not known if the sulphur-crested cockatoo - a protected species - survived.
Body-cam footage worn by officers captured Butera threatening them after he made certain admissions, the facts state.
They confiscated his still-loaded rifle after which Butera reached for a gun in one officer's hand and said he would "kill a half a dozen" police if he was charged or had to appear in court.
"Are you threatening me?" the officer asked.
"Yes, you first," Butera allegedly replied.
When the two officers returned to arrest him shortly afterwards Butera allegedly threatened them again.
"You know how many friends I have here. You are gonna disappear from here," he said, according to the police facts.
Butera refused to go with the officers and had to be forcibly arrested.
The facts state the threatened officer was scared that Butera or one of his associates would kill him.
Magistrate Michelle Goodwin on Thursday adjourned the matter until April 9 for Butera to undergo further mental assessment.
She'll then decide if he can be dealt with under the Mental Health Act.
Australian Associated Press
