The West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner is continuing to call for more to be done to tackle violence against police, after a man was jailed for punching a female police officer in Bromsgrove.
Junior White, aged 34 of Culmington Road, Birmingham was convicted of the assault, his second attack on a police officer at Worcester Crown Court on Monday. He was sentenced to 16 weeks in prison which included 6 weeks for the assault and 10 consecutive weeks for breaching two suspended sentence orders.
Upon sentencing Judge Nicholas Cole described it as a ‘nasty, reckless assault’.
Commissioner John Campion said “The level of violence faced by police officers and staff is unacceptable. As part of my Behind the Badge campaign, I want our communities to understand that there is person behind the uniform, and that assaults can have had a long lasting impact on them and their loved ones. The vast majority of our communities are supportive of the difficult work carried out by our hardworking and professional police force, but there is still a small minority who think assaults are acceptable. It’s important that as communities we work to challenge these negative attitudes and behaviours, in order to protect those who protect us.”
West Mercia Police Chief Superintendent Charles Hill said ““Police officers do an extremely difficult job in often challenging circumstances. Our officers and staff have a right to come to work and do the job the public ask of them. Committing an assault against a police officer is totally unacceptable and we will protect our workforce from injury by arresting anyone suspected of this, ensuring any incident will be fully investigated and appropriate action taken.”
For more information on the Behind the Badge campaign visit here.
Issued: Thursday 25th January 2017
