Chris Hopper, husband and father of two off-duty cops attacked in Alice, wants Territory law reform after his family was assaulted

A family member of two of the off-duty cops assaulted in Alice Springs has shared their disturbing injuries and how they are recovering – and what he wants to see done in the Territory.

Charlee and Jenny Hopper were assaulted in Alice Springs while off duty.

A broken nose, facial injuries from glasses being punched off their face, difficulties eating, and having trouble sleeping is what some of the off-duty cops who were allegedly assaulted in Alice Springs have to recover from, one family member says.

Chris Hopper is the father and husband of mother-daughter policing duo Jenny and Charlee – who had just come to Alice Springs – when he said he got the “call that nobody wants to hear”.

“My wife turned and noticed a group of 20 men running in their direction and didn’t have the opportunity to get out of the way or react,” he said.

“One of the members (of the group) has proceeded to grab my wife’s bag that she was carrying, and an immediate struggle has ensued, and the offenders grabbed my wife by the hair and has then threatened her with a large rock as if to hit her in the face.”

Mr Hopper’s wife and daughter were two of the four off-duty cops who were assaulted in the early hours of Sunday morning, July 7.

He said they were walking home from the Epilogue Bar in town.

They hadn’t been in town for more than a week, he said.

Charlee’s (centre) grandparents Paul and Lynda with Jenny and Chris at her graduation.

“My daughter was then set upon by at least six adult offenders that punched and kicked her to the ground, stomped on her, kicked her and punched her while she was on the ground, stomped on her head,” he said.

Three of the off duty police officers were female, with the other being male.

“The male officer that was there tried to react and do his best to defend my wife and daughter, but he was also set upon and the offenders, a short time later, ran off down the street,” Mr Hopper said.

“They stole my wife’s bag, a diamond ring, and my daughter’s phone.”

Hearing of the assault, Mr Hopper – a former Queensland police officer – said he felt “defenceless”, “helpless”, and “horrified”.

“It’s the phone call that nobody wants to hear from any family members: they’ve been seriously assaulted.”

He said his wife and daughter were currently on leave from work, and he would fly down to Alice Springs to see them.

Afterwards, they will drive up to Darwin so Charlee can continue treatment.

As a result of the incident, she has a broken nose and facial injuries which extend to her jaws and teeth.

“She’s having trouble eating at the moment, and they’re both having trouble sleeping,” he said.

His wife, Jenny, had her “glasses punched off her face”.

“She’s got some superficial facial injuries as well, but Charlee fared the worst out of it,” he said.

Mr Hopper praised the police response but said the Territory’s Juvenile Justice Act needed to be reformed to give police more powers to deal with youths engaged in criminal activity.

“Having lived and worked in Alice Springs for the previous three years, my contacts down there have assured me that the Indigenous community down there are absolutely shocked by what’s occurred, and it’s brought a great deal of shame on the community,” he said.

“My wife and daughter weren’t attacked because they were police.

“They were unidentifiable as police, it was an opportunist attack, and it could have been anyone, but it just goes to show just how out of control the situation can get down there.”

Originally published as Chris Hopper, husband and father of two off-duty cops attacked in Alice, wants Territory law reform after his family was assaulted