Essex Police officers injured in weekend of assaults

OVER the course of the weekend 7 Essex Police officers and one PCSO have been assaulted in four separate incidents across the county.

All officers were injured in these assaults, ranging from cuts and bruises to punches and headbutts. One officer has been left with a suspected broken nose.

Essex Police Federation Chairman Steve Taylor has said that the behaviour he has seen towards officers this weekend is simply unacceptable.

He said: “No assault is acceptable, however we still seem to be seeing members of the public assuming it is okay to headbutt and punch police officers.

“Their actions have led to officers being taken off the street for visits to hospital and depriving them of valuable family time.

“We had hoped that the new Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act would have had a deterrent effect against these assaults, but unfortunately that deterrent didn’t come soon enough for our officers this weekend.

“We will now watch with interest to see how the courts will determine this.”