Police representatives reacted with disappointment after a thug who ran over an officer in an attempt to avoid justice was jailed for less than three years.
Umar Anwar, 31, was sat behind the wheel of a white Ford transit van when two Merseyside Police constables tried to speak to him in St Helens, after a member of the public had found a bag containing cannabis and a quantity of cash.
But when one of the officers told him they intended to carry out a drugs search, he slammed the accelerator down dragging PC Dan Parr along the road, who screamed in agony as his legs and pelvic area went under the wheels.
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Liverpool Crown Court heard how PC Parr was left in "excruciating pain" and feared he would never walk again. He suffered a dislocated shoulder and a broken wrist, and has remained signed off work.
Anwar, of Birkdale Road, Rochdale, was jailed for 30 months after admitting causing serious injury by dangerous driving, but will serve only half of that sentence in custody before being automatically released on licence. A passenger in the van, 27-year-old Ahmmad Anwar, of Deeplish Road, Rochdale, was jailed for four years for possessing cocaine and cannabis with intent to supply.
The sentencing of the two men comes only two months after officers in the force's Matrix gun and gangs unit were threatened by a man holding a gun in Thirlmere Road, Everton. And in June this year, 21-year-old Jake Linton was jailed for punching Sergeant Jack Woodward from behind as he tried to deal with an incident in the city centre.
Sgt Woodward was knocked unconscious and left with several broken bones in his face, which required surgery. Sgt Woodward said in a victim impact statement that the assault had "questioned my faith and trust in people".
Merseyside Police Federation, the local branch of the organisation representing rank-and-file serving police officers, reacted with dismay at the sentences and highlighted the staggering number of assaults on officers in Merseyside.
Tony Fairclough, chairman of the Merseyside Police Federation, told the ECHO there were 1,159 assaults on emergency workers in the 12 months to March this year. Of that figure, 1,035 recorded assaults were against police officers, including 264 resulting in injury and 771 without.
Mr Fairclough said: "This appalling number of assaults on police officers, whether any injury is caused or not, often leaves devastating and long-term effects. Assaults on any emergency worker must not be tolerated and is definitely not part of the job.
"The effects of these assaults, both physically and mentally, can last a lifetime and I’m sure the vast majority of the public would agree, are totally unacceptable. The incidents that have been highlighted show the unpredictability of the work that police officers undertake on a daily basis.
"These incidents illustrate that police officers are often working in the most challenging, and sometimes dangerous situations. Yet, despite this knowledge, they continue to act selflessly and bravely to continue to protect the communities of Merseyside that they police."
Referring to the cases mentioned above, Mr Fairclough described the sentences involved as "extremely disappointing".
He said: "Police officers have suffered horrific injuries, one as a result of a physical attack and the other as a result of being deliberately dragged along the road and driven over by a van. Sentences of eight months and 30 months imprisonment respectively in no way reflect the gravity of the offences and the impact that these incidents have had on the officers together with the appalling injuries sustained by them.
"An assault on a police officer is a stain on our society. Police officers do not come to work to be assaulted. We are all aware that police officers put themselves in harm’s way on a daily basis to protect the public, and it should be the case that officers are protected by the criminal justice system.
"It’s so important that the Judiciary utilise the sentencing guidelines to the maximum and send out a clear deterrent of what awaits offenders who attack police officers. It should always be the case that any potential assailant should know that there are consequences of attacking a police officer and that those consequences are mandatory lengthy custodial sentences."
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