Saturday serve: Time for fans to get behind Curtis Scott

I suspect you've all now seen the disturbing footage of his January 27 arrest, and the disgraceful treatment he suffered at the hands of NSW police officers while being arrested.

If you haven't seen it yet, jump online this weekend and have a look - but be warned: It is distressing vision.

Scott has endured a year from hell. In November last year he was signed by coach Ricky Stuart and it looked a superb piece of recruitment.

He was a premiership winner on the fringe of the representative scene coming out of that magnificently well oiled Melbourne Storm machine.

Not even two months after putting pen to paper, he was arrested and charged with seven offences including assault officer in execution of duty.

At the time we heard Scott had also been pepper sprayed and tasered, and naturally we all formed an opinion of what must have happened during the wee hours at Moore Park.

The club stood by Scott, and he's played 13 games for the Raiders this season although not at the standard Stuart would have expected when he signed him.

And now we know why.

For seven and a half months, Scott has had to stay silent about his arrest, unable to publicly explain his side of the story. That side emerged in court on Wednesday and Thursday as vision was played to magistrate Jennifer Giles.

So disgusted was the magistrate with what she saw, she dropped all charges that had been leveled against Scott. She also described his arrest as unlawful.

Here's what actually happened. Scott was asleep underneath a Moore Park tree after a heavy evening on the drink. He was woken up by police, and stood upon by one of the officers.

They handcuffed him in that prone position, then blasted him with pepper spray before pulling out the taser and giving him a zap with that for good measure.

It was distressing, disturbing, disgusting and disgraceful behaviour, and I shudder to think how many more Sydney siders have copped similar treatment in the past.

After all that, Scott was taken into custody and these brutal, bullying officers decided to slap him with assaulting police charges.

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Granted, and Scott was quick to point this out when the shackles of silence were released on Friday afternoon, he put himself in that position.

There are much more constructive places to be at 12.45am on a January morning than asleep under a tree in Moore Park.

But he didn't deserve to be brutalised by supposed law enforcers, and he didn't deserve to cop the hammering in the media in by Raiders fans that all stemmed from the unlawful arrest, and a ridiculous charge sheet. As it happens, Scott is injured at the moment and unavailable to play against St George Illawarra in Wollongong this weekend.

But Raiders fans - get excited. A huge weight has been lifted from Scott's shoulders. There'll be no more anxiety attacks in the middle of the night and no more cloud of uncertainty hovering over him each day.

He wants to repay the Raiders' faithful on the field, and I think we're about to see his best.