Man jailed after 'vicious attack'

19 April 2018

Leicestershire Police Federation chair Tiff Lynch has welcomed the fact that a man charged with assaulting a police officer appeared in court for that offence despite facing a number of other charges.

Joseph Goodwin (25) of Beams Meadow, Hinckley was sentenced to 18 months in prison at Leicester Crown Court yesterday after admitting causing actual bodily harm to a doorman, two common assaults on police officers and racially aggravated threatening behaviour on 29 December 2017. In a drunken attack, he spat blood and saliva into the officer’s mouth, leaving him potentially exposed to any disease he might have been carrying.

“This was a vicious and intentional attack against a member of the public and our police officers. But all too often when we see offenders charged with assaulting police officers along with a number of other offences, the charges relating to the attacks on the police are dropped along the way, as if somehow they are less important,” says Tiff.

“It is disappointing and frustrating when this happens and it sends out the wrong message to those who think it’s okay to assault police officers who are going about their duties and serving their communities.

“I believe that anyone who assaults a police officer – or any other member of the emergency services – should face the full weight of the law. They need to be punished for the crime but there also needs to be some kind of deterrent to others.”

Just last month, Leicestershire Police issued spit guards to its officers and Tiff highlighted the fact that, had the officer involved in this incident had the equipment at his disposal, he might not have had to suffer months of anxiety while he waited for blood test results to show whether he had contracted a disease from their assailant.

Leicestershire Police Federation has been a strong supporter of the national Police Federation’s Protect the Protectors campaign which is calling for better protection against assaults for police officers.

As a result of the campaign, The Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Private Members’ Bill is making its way through Parliament and is due for its third hearing in the House of Commons next Friday.

Tiff has written to all Leicestershire MPs urging them to get behind the bill.

“As can be seen by this latest case, police officers are subject to hideous assaults, they are bitten, they are punched and they are spat at. No-one should be expected to tolerate these attacks just for doing their jobs,” says Tiff.

“It is time that more is done to protect the protectors – those who lay their lives on the line to protect the public should be afforded protection too.”