Jailed for officer assault

A MAN who attacked a Guardia Civil officer who was trying to arrest him in Torrevieja has been sent to prison within a day of the assault and ordered to pay compensation to the victim.

The case was reported by the AUGC officers’ association, who represented the victim by bringing a private accusation in addition to the public prosecution.

According to the verdict of a court in Torrevieja, on March 25 a patrol was sent to a home in the town to arrest and bring in a man accused of domestic violence by his own father. The suspect aggressively shouted at, insulted and berated the officers, then launched himself at one of them, attacked him and tried to pull his regulation firearm out of its holster. The officer managed to prevent this and arrested the man despite being punched and kicked repeatedly.

That officer suffered injuries to several parts of his body which required immediate medical attention and follow up treatments, and prevented him from performing his usual duties for several days. The court sentenced the defendant to 14 months in prison for assaulting an officer, a month of fines for causing minor injuries, and ordered him to pay the victim €400 in compensation.

Most importantly, according to the association, the judge refused the defence’s request for the sentence to be suspended and ordered the convicted man to be taken directly from the court to prison. The AUGC said this shows the importance of having private legal representation to argue that officers’ attackers should receive the maximum punishment.

The courts should be as tough as possible on these offenders because assaults, insults and threats against officers are becoming habitual, possibly because these incidents often go unpunished, stated the association.

The case also flags up the force’s lack of equipment and personnel, as only one patrol was sent to arrest this person who has criminal records for similar offences. And the suspect had not been able to grab the gun because it had been in an anti-theft holster which the officer had bought with his own money, ‘otherwise there could have been fatal consequences’, claimed the AUGC.