A violent alcoholic strangled a police constable until he couldn't breathe before biting another officer.
Michael Sadler, 39, of The Calvers, The Brow, Runcorn, is now behind bars after a judge said the “ferocity” of the attack was too serious to avoid prison. Simon Mintz, prosecuting at Chester Crown Court on Thursday, said police were initially called to Sadler’s partner’s address following a “disturbance” at another house where family members lived at around 8pm on November 3.
Upon arriving at the scene, PC Adam Williams took hold of Sadler to prevent him leaving. Sadler became “aggressive” and pulled his arm “tight around around the officer’s neck”.
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Mr Mintz said: “The officer couldn’t breathe and feared for his life.
“Then the defendant punched him repeatedly to the face, continuing to punch him while he was on the floor.”
When PC Joanne Keppel tried to intervene, Sadler punched her in the face, prompting her to spray him with her incapacitant spray and press the emergency button for the first time in over a decade of policing.
At some point Sadler sat down on the sofa.
Two further officers arrived, PCs Jack O’Neill and Sgt Philip Pickering, and again Sadler became violent.
He kicked PC O’Neill in the chest and bit Sgt Pickering on the arm.
Eventually he was restrained and taken into custody, where Sadler said “he just lost it - it brought back childhood memories of being bullied” and he wanted to “hurt the officer” and hit the “female officer by mistake”, for which he “apologised”.
He said he had “various mental health problems”.
Mr Mintz summarised three victim personal statements submitted to the court.
PC Keppel said she suffered bruising to the arm and back and pain in the jaw and cheek but no breaks or other injuries.
She experienced loss of sleep in the following days and was anxious over facing similar violence in future.
PC Williams reported multiple bruises to the head and neck and a cut to his head that needed glue, adding the assault left him in a “state of shock” and he had nightmares afterwards.
His wife was also concerned about him continuing with his career.
Sgt Pickering suffered a “deep bite to the wrist”, which required “strong antibiotics and other drugs” leaving him nauseous.
The bite wound became a scar.
PC O’Neill didn’t make a victim statement.
Sadler pleaded guilty at the first opportunity to four counts of assault of an emergency worker and one of strangulation.
Mr Mintz said Sadler had five convictions for 22 offences including serious Section 18 grievous bodily harm assaults and Section 47 assaults occasioning actual bodily harm from 2004, in addition to possessing a firearm and Class A drug supply, for which he was sentenced to eight years in prison.
Jeremy Rawson, defending, pleaded mitigation for Sadler’s guilty pleas at the earliest opportunity, adding his remorse was evident when Sadler watched footage of the incident.
Recounting Sadler’s words, Mr Rawson said: “He was disgusted by what he saw and deserved to be punished - people shouldn’t be able to get away with things like that, he was clearly not well if he’s capable of doing that.”
He said Sadler was “bitterly sorry” for the “serious and unpleasant and nasty” assault.
The defence barrister said Sadler had a “difficult and troubled background” but has made “positive steps” to isolate his offending triggers and devise “strategies to deal with them”.
These efforts have included attending sessions in Widnes and Alcoholics Anonymous twice a week to deal with the “root cause of the difficulties in his life”, namely “alcohol”.
Judge Simon Berkson sentenced Sadler to two years in prison to be served immediately and said the “ferocity” of the assaults including the “particularly serious” strangulation meant custody must follow.
The sentence comprised 20 months for the strangulation plus four months consecutive for the assault on PC Keppel, and then three concurrent sentences of four months each.
Judge Berkson said Sadler had “not been in any serious trouble for a number of years” having been in “terrible trouble” previously, and had pleaded guilty.
Opening his sentencing remarks he said: “You pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and at an early stage regretted what you did to those police officers working for the good of the public, when they were simply trying to arrest you.”
He said the use of a boot for kicking and teeth for biting could both be regarded as the use of “weapons”.
Judge Berkson said: “These were serious offences committed towards police officers carrying out their public service for the good of society.
“It’s right to say you’re somebody who’s had a difficult and troubled background, to take the words out of the mouth of your advocate, who bases them on the contents of a pre-sentence report, you have some mental health issues that you claim must have been the cause to commit the crime in the way you did.”
He added: “Bearing in mind the ferocity of the attack in this case, I have no doubt that appropriate punishment can only be achieved by a sentence of immediate imprisonment.
“I take the injuries sustained by PC Adam Williams as particularly serious.”
The judge also imposed a surcharge and collection order, but no compensation because Sadler was imprisoned.
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