MANCHESTER MAN JAILED FOR VIOLENT ATTACK ON POLICE OFFICER
A intoxicated man named Anthony Woodhead-Robertson, aged 39, who was publicly drinking from a wine bottle, engaged in violent conduct and sexual misconduct which led to his arrest and subsequent sentencing.He was involved in an incident where he was 'playing with his genitals' in public in Moston and behaved aggressively when police officers arrived.
During the confrontation, Woodhead-Robertson used a wine bottle to strike a police officer, PC Joanne Aitken, hitting her on the head repeatedly, despite her efforts to subdue him.
She bravely continued her attempts to detain him, even after being struck, and was eventually assisted by members of the public, which prevented further injury.
PC Aitken sustained serious injuries, requiring five staples in her head and three weeks off work, though she returned early as an act of resilience.
Woodhead-Robertson, who has a substantial criminal history with 25 previous convictions for 36 offences including violence, indecent exposure, being drunk and disorderly, and public order offences, had also hurled racist and homophobic abuse at members of the public, and made lewd sexual comments in other incidents.
In court, he pleaded guilty to wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and was sentenced to 12 and a half years in prison, declared 'dangerous' by the judge.
During the hearing, he interrupted court proceedings multiple times and was shown via video-link from HMP Manchester.
He was heard to say, 'I've not had a job for 13 years, what else am I going to do but drink?' The judge remarked, 'This was a lone, female officer.
It was fortuitous indeed that she didn't sustain life-threatening or life-changing injuries.' PC Aitken, with over 20 years of service, expressed her pride in maintaining composure and fighting to restrain the attacker despite sustaining injuries.
Experts and police officials voiced their condemnation of violence against officers, emphasizing that police are civilians with families and should not be assaulted as if it were part of the job.
The court's decision followed the recent powers given to police under The Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act, which allows for longer sentences for those attacking officers, underscoring the seriousness of such violence and the police's commitment to safeguarding their personnel.
