A Swindon man has been jailed for six months after pleading guilty to assaulting a police officer and three counts of theft.
Martin Morgan, 33, of Pakenham Road, Park South, appeared at Swindon Magistrates Court on Friday (22 June 2018) following an incident in Canal Walk last Wednesday (20 June 2018).
We had been called to the House of Fraser store after staff reported a shoplifter stealing bottles of perfume.
Officers arrived at the scene and arrested Morgan on suspicion of theft, but while he was being detained he became very violent and kicked a female police officer in the stomach.
While she was then arresting him on suspicion of assaulting a police officer, he kicked her in the face.
Morgan was jailed for 17 weeks for the assault and a further eight weeks for the three thefts, so will serve a total of 25 weeks.
He was also ordered to pay £200 compensation to the police officer.
The three thefts relate to the perfume stolen from House of Fraser, and two incidents of shoplifting at Sainsbury’s in Brunel Plaza, where alcohol was stolen.
Sgt Amy Hardman, from Swindon South Community Policing Team, welcomed the sentence and said violence against police officers and staff would not be tolerated.
She said: “Morgan has an extensive history of theft offences and shows very little sign of changing his behaviour.
“His offending has a big impact on the local shops within the town, who are already under pressure due to the popularity of out of town retail parks and online shopping.
“In relation to the assault, the physical injuries to the officer involved are luckily not something that will be of any lasting nature.
“However the emotional and psychological impact is not something that is repaired quite so quickly or easily and the officer concerned will have the full support of our organisation during this time.”
During the court hearing a statement from Chief Constable Kier Pritchard was submitted to highlight the impact on assaults on police officers.
It said: “My staff work tirelessly to protect the public from situations which may involve threat, risk or harm and will often place themselves into harm’s way in order to undertake this duty.
“Despite this and the protection they are afforded through their personal issue appointments, it is my belief that being physically or verbally assaulted should never be tolerated or considered to be acceptable as part of their public duty.
“My staff have a right to go about their daily duty without the fear of being assaulted either physically or verbally, which is motivated by hostility, violence or physical assault of the person, which is a criminal offence.”
