A male who left a police officer needing reconstructive surgery has been spared an immediate prison sentence after telling a judge he ‘has completely given up alcohol’.
The decision to spare the male a custodial sentence has left many police officers feeling completely let down by the very same system that they put their lives on the line to protect and serve.
During the case, presiding Judge Richard Gioserano told Shaun Kelly that he remained “sceptical” about the assertion made in his ‘defence’ but opted to give him a chance to prove himself rather than sending him to prison for a short time.
And yet, the police officer who was seriously injured during the incident now has to live with the emotional and physical scars after what happened to him for the rest of his life.
Kelly, aged 35, of Montserrat Road, Johnson Fold, pleaded guilty to causing actual bodily harm to PC Craig Rimmer, who had just been trying to help him.
Bolton Crown Court heard that Kelly, who has a history of violence, has attacked police officers before having consumed alcohol in booze-fuelled violent outbursts.
But Michael James, defending, said he now cares for his mother, who has a brain tumour and his father, who has mental health issues and so has stopped drinking.
“His family situation has become such that he has to put them first,” said Mr James.
Simon Barrett, prosecuting, told the court how police were called to the Montserrat Road address on July 18
But as Kelly was being transported to the police station in a police van, officers noticed that he had tied a shoelace around his own neck.
Officers immediately stopped the vehicle on Moss Bank Way and tried to restrain Kelly in order to remove the shoelace from around his neck, but he kicked out at PC Rimmer, hitting him repeatedly in the legs and chest until the officer fell backwards and his right knee gave way.
Mr Barrett said the officer was left in “excruciating pain” with ruptured ligaments in his right knee and a torn cartilage.
PC Rimmer now faces reconstructive surgery and has not been able to fully resume his duties since the ordeal.
The court heard that Kelly has committed offences against police officers on at least four previous occasions, including one time when he ran towards officers brandishing a knife.
“His record does him no service but he has indicated, despite Your Honour’s scepticism, that he’s made progress with the underlying factors in this case, namely his use of alcohol,” Mr James told Judge Gioserano.
Sentencing him to 12 months in prison suspended for two years, the judge told Kelly:
“For whatever reason, you have had a long-standing drink problem and anger management issues and other people have paid the price for that.
“In particular, it seems to me, you have made a habit of taking your anger out on police.
“They are blameless, of course.
“PC Rimmer ended up with a very unpleasant injury indeed.”
But he added: “I am prepared to accept you’ve got on top of the drinking for the moment.
“With that comes an opportunity which has not been there before.”
He added that the public would be best served by Kelly working with the probation service to ensure his behaviour continues to change for the better rather than serve a relatively short custodial sentence.
As part of his sentence Kelly was ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work, undertake 25 days of rehabilitation activities and participate in an alcohol treatment programme.
Judge Gioserano added that he hopes PC Rimmer obtains compensation for his injuries.
But this case has highlighted that many officers feel that their own personal safety should not be compromised just so that violent offenders can be given ‘second chances’ – especially in cases where the offended has previously been violent towards the emergency services.
Police officers increasingly feel that alcohol is used simply as an excuse by individuals who are presented before the courts having assaulted a member of the emergency services.
SUPPORT US —>
If you have a story, video or one-off blog that you would like to share with us, then you can contact our team of former emergency services & armed forces personnel either through our Facebook page, via Twitter ( @ES_News_ ) or you can contact us via email: contact@emergency-services.news
If you run or manage a ‘job’ social media account and you would like us to share one of your stories then send us a tweet or a message!
If you would like to write an article that you would like us to share (it can be about anything to do with the emergency services / NHS) whether you serve in the emergency services / NHS or whether you are a member of the public who has had a good experience with the emergency services, then feel free to contact our team; anonymously if you prefer.
We are proud to act as a voice for the emergency services, armed forces & health service, with over 500,000 people visiting our website each month.
Before you go...
We need your help. As former emergency services & armed forces personnel, we pride ourselves on bringing you important, fast-moving and breaking news stories & videos which are free from the negative bias which is often directed at the emergency services & NHS by some sections of the mainstream media.
One of the reasons we started 'Emergency Services News' back in 2018 was because we became tired of reading badly informed stories about the emergency services & NHS which seemed only ever to highlight negative aspects of the job.
We want to be the unheard voice of the remarkable men and women who serve in the emergency services, NHS and armed forces. And with around 500k page views each month, we are getting there!
As income from ads, the mainstay source of income for most publishers, continues to decline; we need the help of you, our readers.
You can support emergency services news from as little as £1. It only takes a minute. Every contribution, however big or small, is vital for our future.
Please help us to continue to highlight the life-saving work of the emergency services, NHS and armed forces by becoming a supporter.
