Woman allegedly assaulted as ABC Back Roads visits small NSW town
The visit of the ABC TV program Back Roads to the rural NSW town of Nimmitabel was supposed to be a great moment for the small community – instead it ended with a man being arrested after a cafe owner was allegedly assaulted.
Andrew Thaler, who rose to prominence as the spokesman for the family of Cooma Taser victim Clare Nowland, arrived at Bertie’s Cafe in Nimmitabel on Sunday afternoon as the ABC Back Roads crew was filming around town.
The ABC team had enjoyed lunch at the cafe, and had been filming in and around the building all weekend, cafe owner Sandra Drayton said.
Thaler, who had made social media posts critical of the Back Roads program and of Drayton’s cafe, arrived to confront Sandra and her husband.
Drayton said Thaler and his supporters were filming the confrontation when a scuffle erupted.
“I told him to move on … he got his phone out and things got heated. He pushed me, I pushed him. I grabbed his phone and then he pushed me up against the wall, choking me,” Drayton said.
“The whole town is getting the best coverage, and he ruins it for everyone.”
Police were called to the Bombala Street cafe about 2pm and interviewed Drayton and a number of witnesses
Officers spoke to a number of people following an altercation at a nearby cafe where a 48-year-old-woman and a 53-year-old man were allegedly assaulted,” a police spokesperson said.
“A 51-year-old man was arrested and taken to Cooma Police station.”
Thaler was charged with intentionally choking Drayton, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, two counts of common assault and remaining on land without a lawful excuse.
He was granted bail and will face Cooma Local Court on May 22.
Thaler has run as an independent political candidate for the seat of Eden-Monaro and when Nowland was fatally Tasered at her aged care home last year, he presented himself as a spokesman for her family.
The family later clarified that Thaler was not their spokesman and did not represent them.
Last year at a voice to parliament campaign event in Cooma, Thaler filmed an incident where a Yes supporter appeared to spit on him.
