Geraldton court hears not guilty pleas from woman alleged to have tried to free detained partner

An 18-year-old woman accused of trying to help her partner escape a locked police containment pod has pleaded not guilty to the charge. In Geraldton Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, Christina Dawson faced one count of obstructing public officers after an alleged incident in the Wheatbelt earlier this year. Prosecutor Sgt Beau Jones said police had on April 28 attended a Northam residence where they arrested Ms Dawson’s partner about 5.35pm. Sgt Jones said the accused then became “upset” and “started undoing the locks to the secure pod” her partner had been moved into. He said she started screaming and struggling with police, who were forced to “put her to the ground” when she failed to co-operate. Representing herself, Ms Dawson told Deputy Chief Magistrate Elizabeth Woods she had come to Geraldton to “get away” from Northam, where she had been homeless. She could not answer Ms Woods when asked why she disputed the facts presented by Sgt Jones, with Ms Dawson instead saying she was “not mentally right”. She will appear in court again in Northam on September 29.