Robert Wilkins, 27, attacked Police Officer Michael Reid when he tried to arrest him in Cardiff causing injuries including a fracture to his eye socket and a displaced fracture to his nose, a court heard
A thug gave a policeman a “barrage of punches” leaving him covered in blood and fearing he was “going to die” as he resisted arrest, a court heard.
Robert Wilkins, 27, was in breach of a restraining order when he turned up at his former partner’s home in Cardiff on May 17 and caused damage to her windows and a makeup mirror. Officers Michael Reid and Olivia Joy went to the home and found Wilkins outside the property.
When PC Reid took hold of Wilkins’ arms and attempted to arrest him but the defendant began to pull away, a sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court was told. Prosecutor Nuhu Gobir said Wilkins then took hold of PC Reid and began to repeatedly punch him to the face, in what the officer described as a “barrage of punches”.
PC Reid attempted to draw his Taser but after discharging the weapon twice, it failed to have an impact on the defendant. The officer tried to protect himself and to activate his emergency button but Wilkins continued to punch him. PC Joy shouted for the defendant to stop and grabbed him, but he pushed her away with such force she left the ground and fell onto the bonnet of a nearby car.
Eventually, Wilkins’ clothing ripped and he was able to escape. PC Reid was taken to the University Hospital of Wales where he received treatment for a fracture to his eye socket and a displaced fracture to his nose. His right eye was both swollen and bruised.
Wilkins, of no fixed abode, handed himself in at Cardiff Bay police station later the same day but became aggressive and told officers: “If I see another ginger come behind me like that and I see the face of the devil in his face, I’ll happily end up in an attack for my own self defence.”
The defendant later pleaded guilty to two counts of assaulting an emergency worker, breaching a restraining order and criminal damage. The court heard he has previous convictions for assault occasioning actual bodily harm, battery, assaulting an emergency worker and arson, reported WalesOnline.
In a victim personal statement read to the court, PC Reid said he had never taken time off work before but due to his incident he had a significant period of absence, which affected him financially. He added: “In my role as a police officer I do not believe I should ever be assaulted, however if I would be I would expect the assault to be minor and to be able to escape.
“[The defendant] just continued the attack and this assault went on for 30 seconds. He carried on hitting me and I can remember thinking ‘What is he trying to do?’. It crossed my mind ‘Is he trying to kill me?’… I realised how badly I had been assaulted.
“As soon as he left I knew it wasn’t good. I was hearing wind, my vision went starry and a feeling of nausea came over me. I genuinely felt I was going to die in this moment and my eye was left swollen for around a week.”
PC Joy said she felt guilty for the injuries her colleague sustained and said she had considered leaving the police force as a result of the incident. In mitigation, Matthew Comer said his client was “not mentally well” at the time of the offence. He said the defendant has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, anxiety and depression, and he has been sectioned under the Mental Health Act three times. The defence barrister said Wilkins suffered from auditory and visual hallucinations which caused him to hear voices, see shadows and find it difficult distinguishing reality from hallucinations.
Sentencing, Judge Shomon Khan said: “The officer at the scene had a duty to arrest you. Your reaction was vile, verbal abuse was totally unwarranted, you were obnoxious. You seemed to be offended the officer was challenging you in this way. You repeatedly punched the officer, you punched him again and again and again, it was sustained… It would seem you were out of control. The ferocity and manner of repeated punches thrown at the victim caused a real risk of serious harm… He thought you were really trying to hurt him or maybe even worse.”
Wilkins was sentenced to two years and six months imprisonment. He will serve half the sentence in custody before he is released to serve the remainder on licence.