29-year-old Blake Colman, who was evicted this week from The Bachelorette, has released a statement to the media saying he is “truly remorseful” for his role in a violent street attack in Perth in August of 2015, that saw a man rushed to hospital.
31-year-old Tristan Cooper, a financial controller from Cottesloe, spoke to Perth Now this week, and revealed that he was attacked by Colman after stepping in and trying to break up an argument involving a number of men.
Cooper says he came across the verbal altercation as he and his friends were walking away from a Hungry Jack’s at around 12.45am on a Monday. “I kept telling everyone to go their separate ways,” he said, adding:
“Blake and his group were yelling and we were walking away. Then he just came running up and with all his body weight sort of grabbed me in the back of the head and threw me into the side of Hungry Jack’s. He picked me up by my neck and threw me down and my head’s whacked the corner of the window as I’ve gone down. I got knocked out and then I came to … I was lying there looking up at this group of people staring down at me and I was thinking, ‘Well, this is it.’”
Cooper said he was unable to feel his arms and legs when he regained consciousness, and that the ferocity of the attack was such that a female companion was sprayed with his blood. He was rushed to hospital with a head wound, and received four staples to close it.
Colman reportedly left the scene of the attack, but was later identified when Crime Stoppers released his photo; allegedly, police also obtained footage and audio of Colman in a taxi after the incident, “laughing” with his friends about knocking Cooper down.
According to Perth Now, the matter eventually went before Perth Magistrates Court, and on April 26 of this year, Colman entered a guilty plea, copping a fine as well as an order to pay Cooper $850 in compensation for his ambulance ride.
Cooper claims he has not yet received this money. Reportedly, Colman had already been shortlisted for The Bachelorette at this point, and his lawyer asked the judge to take this into account when sentencing, so his opportunity to be on the show would not be hindered.
In response to the news, Channel 10 publicists released a statement on Blake Colman’s behalf, saying merely: “I am truly remorseful and accepted full responsibility for my actions.”
Unsurprisingly, his Instagram is currently set to private.
