Drunk teen punched rookie PC to the ground
A YOUNG woman beginning her career as a police officer was punched to the ground by a ‘smirking’ teenager in a ‘disgraceful’ city centre attack.
The student PC was helping to deal with a disturbance in Newcastle when she was attacked for no reason by Kieran Lowery.
The force of the punch knocked her over and she banged her head on the ground.
She was left with a swollen eye, bloodied nose, a cut to her cheek, a cracked tooth and there were fears she had bleeding on the brain, which proved unfounded.
She said in a victim impact statement: “I’m a little bit upset and angry. I was just doing my job, this was totally unprovoked.
“I’ve only been a PC for a short time and I was a little bit conscious about going back to work.
“I struggled with memory loss and had issues with concentration due to the concussion I received. I also had difficulty sleeping because it was difficult to get comfortable and was told to take six weeks off work.
“I don’t know how I feel about this man. I know he is remorseful and says he can’t remember because he was drunk but I’ve been drunk before and have never felt the need to punch a police officer or anyone else.”
Police had been called to the Premier Inn, in the city centre, on April 13 last year, and arrested a man Lowery was with.
Lowery began shouting and swearing at another officer and the victim approached him to support her colleague.
Joe Culley, prosecuting, said: “The defendant looked at her while smirking and walked towards her.
“Her next recollection is waking up on the ground.
“He had punched her once to the face then ran after another officer as she lay on the ground motionless.”
The officer was taken to hospital and kept in for observations.
When Lowery was interviewed, he said he had been drinking at Stack, was very drunk and had been looking
for a hotel. He behaviour.
Lowery, 19, of Kings Lane, Pelton, Chester-le-street, County Durham, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and was sentenced to eight months suspended for 12 months with a three month curfew and must pay £250 compensation.
Recorder Andrew Haslam told him: “Police officers who work in towns and cities and protect us against others and others against themselves and put their personal safety on the line every day they go to work.
“They deal with people who have had too much to drink who threaten them and, as you did, assault them.
“Sometimes they put their lives on the line to protect us. They will always receive the protection of this court from people like you.
“It was, as I think you know, a disgraceful episode. You punched her to the face with such severity she fell backwards to the ground, striking her head on it.
“These were significant injuries and you committed the offence against someone working for all of us to protect people.”
Lowery wrote a letter of apology to the officer which his barrister read to court. He said: “I can only apologise for the incident. I’m not a violent person, I have never been in any kind of trouble before and I’m deeply ashamed of my actions.
“I find it difficult to accept I actually hurt someone.”
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