When did police become Britain’s ‘punch bag’?
They protect. They serve. Yet the countries frontline officers suffer increasing attacks and fatalities…
Lisa Bates lay on the floor, exhausted and in too much shock to feel the excruciating pain from her broken leg and partially severed finger. ‘Please stop,’ she begged the man above her, wielding an axe. Ignoring her pleas, Nathan Sumner brought the weapon down again, fracturing her skull and knocking her unconscious.
Lisa was not a victim of domestic violence or a random attack. She was a police officer, on duty.
‘It was 13 August 2016 and my partner, PC Mark Garrett, and I were at a flat, responding to a 999 call,’ the 37-year-old recalls. ‘When he answered the door, Sumner started punching PC Garrett. I attempted to restrain him and use tear gas. When that didn’t work, I knew we were in trouble.’
They were indeed. Because
Sumner then produced an axe. As Lisa and PC Garrett tried to run to safety, Lisa fell down the stairs, breaking her leg. Unable to escape, Sumner attacked.
‘He said he was going to kill me. I believed him,’ said Lisa.
This attack on a police officer isn’t an isolated incident. As such assaults have risen over lockdown, two Chief Constables are so concerned they have spoken out.
‘I’ve seen some of my officers stabbed, doused in petrol with a baying mob calling for them to be set on fire, run over, kicked, stamped on, punched, spat at, threatened…’ says Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington of Essex Police.
Most of us appreciate the job the police do, putting their lives on the line to keep the peace and protect the public.
But sadly, that is what they have to do. Put their lives on the line. Sergeant Matt Ratana was shot and fatally wounded on 25 September 2020 during an incident when a man was detained in custody.
On 15 August 2019, PC Andrew Harper was killed after being dragged behind a vehicle while arresting three suspects. And PC Keith Palmer was killed on 22 March 2017 during the Westminster terorrist attack.
When such horror occurs, the nation mourns. Yet John Robins, Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police, says this isn’t enough. ‘We in policing appreciate the public outpouring of support at such times. But we need that same public support now, not least because of the daily assaults on officers and staff for just doing their job.
‘They are punched, kicked, pushed and spat at every day. They are also racially and religiously abused or insulted because of their gender or sexual orientation.’
He went on to say, ‘A punch bag gets hit from every side; it feels a little like that in policing at the moment.’
Lisa, now a hair stylist, agrees. ‘Before Sumner attacked me, I’d had sprained wrists, sprained thumbs, bites and scratches. I’d been assaulted numerous times.’
The numbers also back up his words. The Daily Express revealed that more than 20,000 officers have been attacked since March 2020 – an average of 48 every 24 hours.
John Robins’ West Yorkshire Police has suffered 3,001 assaults since the pandemic started, losing 336 operational days due to the injuries.
At Ben-Julian Harrington’s Essex Police, there have been 1,718 attacks. Worryingly, 138 officers have been attacked more than once.
‘We are not the exception, we are the rule,’ said Chief Constable Harrington. ‘Up and down the country, every day, the people charged with protecting you are assaulted. The pandemic has created a policing challenge like no other.’
He worries about the impact such assaults are having on officers in the force now – and those to come.
‘I don’t doubt many officers are anxious when they pick up their warrant card, and families dread the knock on the door… I’m also concerned that this will cause a knock-on for recruitment. It may well
20,000 police officers attacked since March
do – particularly against the backdrop of another pay freeze.’
After her attack, Lisa had to retire from the force in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. ‘My physical injuries meant I couldn’t have gone back on the beat but I could have found a job elsewhere in the police. But it was important for my mental recovery to draw a line under my time there.’
It’s no wonder Lisa felt this way. After spending two weeks in hospital, it took her another two years of operations, therapy and counselling to recover.
Lisa also received support from The Blue Lamp Foundation, set up by PC David Rathband to provide help to officers with physical, mental and emotional well-being injuries suffered on duty.
‘I still suffer from PTSD – even hearing sirens can trigger memories of that day. I don’t think it will ever go away.’
Sumner was found guilty of grievous bodily harm and sentenced to 15 years, with an extended sentence of five years, which he is carrying out in a mental hospital.
‘Going to court was terrifying,’ Lisa remembers. ‘But my feelings of justice overcame my fears. People have to know they can’t get away with attacking officers. I gave evidence for everyone who’d been assaulted on duty.’
But while Lisa has prevented Sumner from attacking others, what can be done to stop future offenders?
Chief Constable Robins has some strong ideas. ‘We need a strong stance from the CPS, the Courts and the Judiciary to prosecute those who assault all public sector workers, which thankfully we’re now starting to see. We also need to implement the recommendations from the recent national Officer and Staff Safety Review and we are grateful to the Home Office for supporting this.
‘We need cross-government support for a meaningful Police Covenant, like the Military Covenant, where officers and staff are looked after by the state for the special job they do – but this is not happening yet.’
Boris Johnson is launching the Beating Crime plan, which will involve criminals on community service cleaning streets and give neighbourhoods in England and Wales a named police officer to contact if needed.
Whether this will work, time will tell. Some, including the Police Federation, are sceptical.
Meanwhile, Chief Constable Harrington has a message for us. ‘Let me ask one thing of you, our public – stand with us and up for us. When you see us in the street say hello, when we are trying our best be patient and when we are down, bloodied and broken, show us the support you always do because the public are the police and we are the public.’