Horror as female police officer has boiling water thrown over her | UK | News
A police officer was left with life-changing injuries after a “bad” attacker threw boiling water at him as he tried to arrest him during a violent confrontation. John Davies, 58, was jailed for 14 years and six months after he scalded a female police officer with a freshly boiled kettle as officers responded to a disturbance outside his Birmingham home.
Body-worn camera footage released by West Midlands Police captured the terrifying incident, which showed officers attempting to restrain Davies before grabbing the teapot and pouring it over the officer’s shoulders, neck and back. Police were called to Davies’ home in Talbot Street, Winson Green, after reports of a disturbance in the garden.
When officers arrived they saw Davies pinning another man against a fence. An officer separated the pair before Davies entered the property.
The other man then warned officers that Davies was carrying a knife. When police challenged him, Davies denied possession. Moments later, Davies threw a hot drink into the face of the man he was arguing with.
As officers moved to arrest him, body camera footage showed Davies punching an officer in the face and then further escalating the attack. He picked up a recently boiled kettle and poured the boiling water on a female officer, causing severe blisters on her shoulders, back and neck.
The injured officer had to recover for months before he could return to duty. Davies admitted maliciously wounding the police officer in an attempt to resist arrest, assaulting the officer by punching him, and assaulting the man involved in the original dispute.
He was sentenced to 14 years and six months in prison at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday. The judge also decided to extend the license period by four years.
Detective Constable Manpreet Sidhu, from the Bournville neighborhood crime squad, described the attack as “appalling” and said: “It was a horrific attack on two police officers who were doing their duty. “You can see from the footage that Davies put up a huge struggle and several officers had to restrain him before he could be taken into custody.
“One of the officers involved was seriously injured and was only able to return to work recently following this attack.
“No one should be subjected to this level of violence just for doing their job and I hope the sentence handed down to Davies provides some justice for those involved.
“This will have a lasting impact on officers but Davies is now in prison where he belongs.”
The sentence was also welcomed by West Midlands Police Federation chief executive Jess Davies, who said it should serve as a warning to others who attack officers.
She said assaults on police were becoming increasingly common, adding that 86 officers are assaulted every day across the UK.
Calling for greater investment in policing, better pay and stronger support for frontline police officers facing rising levels of violence, he said: “Police officers are not society’s punching bags.”
