Eye gouged, nose broken, head-butted, kicked and assaulted

SHOCKING CATALOGUE OF VIOLENCE SUFFERED BY POLICE OVER BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND

ONE policeman had his eye gouged, another suffered a broken nose and five more were assaulted, including being head-butted and kicked, in a shocking spate of Bank Holiday attacks on frontline officers.

The region’s top cop labelled the weekend violence, which took place in Caernarfon, Bangor, Bala, Wrexham and Flintshire as “completely unacceptable and very concerning”.

Temporary chief constable Gareth Pritchard said: “Our officers are out there doing a demanding job, working hard to protect the most vulnerable and to keep people safe.

“An assault of any kind should never be considered ‘part of the job’.

“Our officers get good training and equipment and we seek to ensure that welfare arrangements are readily available when they become victims of an assault.

“These attacks leave their mark physically and mentally on the officers, and in some cases their families.

“Some of the assaults are very serious and we include impact statements on these assaults to ensure the courts are fully sighted on the effect on the officers and their families.

“I have today signed an impact statement on a serious assault an officer suffered, as I feel that, as chief constable, it is my duty to support my officers and highlight to the courts the effect of those injuries on our staff who are working hard to safeguard the public.”

Senior police officers have met with the Police Federation to discuss how to tackle the issue and now a specialist group will be set up to review the attacks in detail.

Temporary Chief Constable Pritchard added: “Four people have been charged with five assaults on officers in Gwynedd, a further two offenders have been arrested in Wrexham, and work continues to apprehend others suspected to be involved in the other incidents.

“To improve the safety of officers, the number of Taser-trained officers has increased to nearly 300 in local policing spread across the force area, with additional cover from our firearms officers.

“What we want is to make sure that our officers are equipped to protect themselves as best they can and to feel confident out on duty on our streets. Tasers and also body-worn video play an important part in this.”

A POLICE commissioner has called for the majority of frontline officers to be armed with tasers to protect them from “despicable” attacks.

North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones made the call after seven officers were attacked in a shocking weekend of Bank Holiday violence.

One officer had an eye gouged, another suffered a broken nose, while a third had his jaw broken in assaults that took place in Caernarfon, Bangor, Bala, Wrexham and Flintshire.

Mr Jones said: “The attacks over the Bank Holiday weekend in north Wales were despicable.

“The assaults are becoming more and more serious.

“One officer’s nose was broken another had his jaw broken and had to wait for a long time to be treated in hospital.

“I would like to give more confidence and support to police officers to use more force to protect and safeguard themselves if they come under attack when they’re on duty.

“We as a force also need to get behind our officers and support them, especially when they use force to protect themselves and the public.

“Everybody, whether they are a police officers or a member of the public, has the right to protect themselves from being assaulted.

“A higher percentage of officers in North Wales carry tasers than is the case in many forces but I would now like to see the majority of officers equipped with a taser when they are out on the streets so they can protect themselves.”

The Police Federation of England and Wales carried out a study into officers’ views on firearms, examining the level of satisfaction with their access to armed support. It found that 79% wanted access to the weapon at all times on duty. The survey found 53% of respondents’ lives had been in serious danger at least once in the last two years, 80% were not satisfied that armed support would be readily available should they require it, and 35% of respondents personally supported the idea of routine arming.