A Magistrate and lawyer clashed yesterday during the trial of a teenager accused of throwing a bottle at Police officers and violently resisting arrest.

Arresting officer P.c. Robert Butterfield told Magistrate Edward King that he and other officers were trying to control a crowd of about 200 people at the Hamilton bus terminal around 10.50 p.m. on August 27 when he saw Charles Maybury, of Sound View Road, "raise up his right hand holding what appeared to be a beer bottle''.

"He was charging toward myself and other officers in the area,'' P.c.

Butterfield added. "The bottle came within inches of a plain clothes Police officer.'' He added that he pursued Maybury who had run away through the crowd.

Upon reaching Maybury, Butterfield told him he was under arrest and another officer attempted to handcuff Maybury.

"However, the defendant pulled away with the assistance of the crowd,'' P.c.

Butterfield said.

He added that when he caught up with Maybury, he began to "swing his arms and legs trying to resist arrest''.

P.c. Butterfield also said Maybury shoved him against the wall before he and other officers were able to handcuff him and place him in the Police car.

Under cross examination, Maybury's lawyer Sen. Lawrence Scott asked P.c.

Butterfield about the size of the crowd and for a description of the clothes Maybury was wearing.

But Magistrate Edward King objected to his line of questioning, calling it irrelevant.

Sen. Scott, however, argued that this was Mr. King's opinion.

"I must ask the questions I have in my mind, not the questions you have in your mind. I've had specific instructions. You haven't,'' he said, before threatening to withdraw from the case.

Mr. King suggested that if Mr. Scott had a problem with him, he could appeal.

But Sen. Scott argued that there was nothing to appeal because Mr. King would not write all of his questions down.

Mr. King replied that he only had to write down what he deemed relevant and he claimed that Sen. Scott's questions "did not get to the root of the matter''.

Sen. Scott insisted they did because they addressed the identity of his client.

Clearly fed up, Mr. King -- who had a well-publicised court room clash with Sen. Scott in August -- accused the lawyer of showing disrespect to the bench and called a two-minute recess before walking out of the court room.

When he returned, P.c. Warren Bundy, who assisted P.c. Butterfield in arresting Maybury, took the stand.

He said when he arrived on the scene he saw Maybury walking away from P.c.

Butterfield and stood behind Maybury to prevent an escape.

P.c. Bundy said when he heard P.c. Butterfield tell Maybury he was under arrest, he grabbed Maybury's wrists and attempted to handcuff him.

"The defendant pulled away from me and started violently swinging his arms toward me,'' P.c. Bundy added. "I then raised my arms in defence and (Maybury) was pulled away from me by several unknown members of the crowd.'' Maybury later took the stand and told the court he had gone to the bus stop from Front Street and when he saw a lot of arguing was going on he decided to return to Front Street.

Maybury said P.c. Butterfield then approached him and accused him of throwing the bottle.

"As I was talking to him another officer approached me from the left and hit me on my head with a flashlight,'' he claimed.

Maybury said the officer pushed him to the ground before putting him in the patrol car where officers choked him and cursed at him.

The trial resumes on January 13.