Strike on cop puts runaway in prison

A MOTORBIKE thief who rode into a police constable and sent him flying, causing him to flip and hit his head on a Hobart roadway, has been jailed for at least six months.

Jackson Elijah Mansfield, 23, stole a Honda motorbike from Purdy’s Lane in January last year after its owner left the keys in the ignition.

In her published sentencing comments, Supreme Court judge Helen Wood said Mansfield then drove dangerously across the Tasman Bridge, speeding to evade police, before a police car waited for him at a Rokeby intersection.

Riding with a pillion passenger, and neither wearing helmets, Mansfield tried to avoid the constable, who was standing in the middle of the road wearing a high-visibility vest, but struck the right side of his body.

“He became airborne and was flipped in the process,” Justice Wood said.

“He was subjected forward momentum motorcycle.

“(The) constable … travelled approximately to of the the

had 18m from the point of impact to the area where he came to rest on the road.”

The police officer suffered extensive bruising and abrasions and pain to various parts of his body, his right upper arm, left forearm and hand, right lower leg and his spine, with a splint used to immobilise his arm.

“He described the impact and that it was like being hit by a brick wall,” Justice Wood said.

“Once the adrenaline wore off, he could not walk and the pain throughout his body was severe.

“He had difficulty walking for a few weeks … he underwent surgery to have several pieces of gravel removed from his elbow.”

Mansfield pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, committing an unlawful act intended to cause bodily harm, motor vehicle stealing, evading police, and driving while disqualified dating back to January 30 last year.

He was jailed for two years and two months, backdated to October last year.

He must serve a minimum of six months, with the remainder suspended.