SA police security officer threatened partner with gun, court hears

Claims that an on-duty South Australian police security officer allegedly held a gun to his former partner's chest are "sensational" and "dramatic", a trial has heard.

Tim Waverley Morrison, 36, of Aldinga Beach, stood trial in South Australia's District Court this week after pleading not guilty to two counts of aggravated assault and one count of aggravated threatening life in the latter half of 2019.

Opening the trial earlier this week, prosecutor Hilda Kinuthia said Mr Morrison was employed as a protection security officer with South Australian Police when he allegedly held a police-issued firearm to his former partner's chest, and on another occasion, held a knife to her neck.

Ms Kinuthia said that Mr Morrison was on duty and in his uniform when he allegedly pushed the woman against a wall with both hands.

"The accused moved his right hand and got hold of his police-issued firearm," she told the court.

"He held the firearm firmly with his right hand, pushed the barrel on to [the woman's] chest and he flicked something on the gun.

"The accused said words to the effect: 'This is how easily I could hurt you.'"

In his closing address on Friday, Mr Morrison's defence barrister, Richard Edney, said text messages showed Mr Morrison had always denied the claim.

"Insofar as the allegation itself, it's a sensational allegation, a dramatic allegation, and I want to suggest it is deliberately so," he said.

The prosecutor told the court earlier this week that the pair had a "relationship that was marred by violence".

"[The alleged victim] will tell you that the accused became increasingly controlling. He questioned her about where she had been, who she had been talking to and discouraged her from seeing her friends and family," Ms Kinuthia said.

"The accused became verbally abusive, calling [her] fat and insisted that she lose weight.

"That behaviour, the accused's behaviour, escalated to physical violence."

In her closing address on Friday, Ms Kinuthia put to the court that the alleged victim was a "compelling witness" and that the court "can be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that those incidents occurred".

Defendant wasn't controlling, lawyer claims

However, Mr Edney told the court: "In my submission, there is really no true or independent support for the allegations that she makes against Timothy Morrison."

"She ends the relationship while going through … counselling by sleeping with someone else," he said.

"If this man, Timothy Morrison, was so controlling, so dangerous toward her, I want to suggest that the last thing she would do to get out of that relationship would be to sleep with someone else.

"Because on her version of this abusive relationship, he was capable of very serious violence, including with a firearm but also with a knife."

A verdict will be handed down by District Court Judge Lisa Dunlop in September.