A heavily intoxicated Albury man randomly approached an off-duty policeman seated outside a Dean Street restaurant and slapped him to the face.
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The attack by Harrison Holden-Seaton came not long after he committed a similar assault at Albury's Star Hotel.
In that incident, he approached a man having dinner with his partner and punched him to the head.
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Albury Local Court magistrate Richard Funston has lambasted Holden-Seaton for his drunken actions that "caused a lot of upset to innocent members of the public".
"It's an absolutely disgusting way to behave," he said.
Defence lawyer Dane Keenes submitted that Holden-Seaton's behaviour was partially explained by grief as he had just attended his grandmother's funeral.
But Mr Funston told Holden-Seaton, who pleaded guilty to two assault charges, that others did not cope with their grief by going about assaulting strangers.
He said Holden-Seaton also did not do anyone "any favours" by getting "blind drunk".
The court was told how the victim of the first assault was seated in the hotel's courtyard on April 6 about 6.10pm.
He and his partner were about to start their meals when Holden-Seaton began "walking fast" towards them.
Holden-Seaton pointed at the victim, who looked confused, then punched him to the head. He was ejected by security.
Just before 7pm, the victim of the second assault was having dinner with his family out the front of the Downtown Pizzeria restaurant.
Holden-Seaton approached the man, offered a handshake and said: "Hi mate, I'm Harry."
This confused the man, who told him: "Mate, I don't know you, can you please leave me alone. I'm sitting down with my family, can you leave me please."
"Fine, you dog," Holden-Seaton said, before slapping the man to the face.
The victim told Holden-Seaton he was an off-duty policeman, to which Holden-Seaton replied: "F--- off."
The man called police then followed Holden-Seaton, detaining him in AMP Lane.
Holden-Seaton was placed on a 12-month conditional release order, without conviction.
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