Frank Alexander Gabel in court for stabbing police officer

A Qld man who had ‘smoked a few cones’ and taken a cocktail of prescription drugs thought the police officers knocking on his door were bikies who’d come for his body parts.

Frank Alexander Gabel stabbed police who he thought were bikies trying to harvest his body parts, a Bundaberg court heard.

A Bundaberg man stabbed a police officer while experiencing a psychotic episode in which he thought police were going to steal his body parts.

Frank Alexander Gabel, 59, pleaded guilty to serious assault of a police officer whilst armed with a knife in Bundaberg District Court on Wednesday, October 18.

Crown prosecutor Tobie Corsbie told the court Gabel’s history of mental illness began with a motorbike accident in 2012, where he sustained a spinal injury.

Gabel, 59, was prescribed medicinal cannabis to assist with the pain of his injury, following which he developed a delusional disorder.

The court heard Gabel presented to mental health services in December 2017, where his disorder was diagnosed and he was prescribed antipsychotic medication.

Gabel stopped taking his medication in 2018 which led to a relapse of his delusional disorder, and he was hospitalised on two separate occasions in April and June 2020.

After he once again refused to take his medication upon his release from hospital in June, police were authorised to transfer Gabel from the motel where he was staying to the hospital in order to receive his medication.

Upon arrival at the motel in the Gold Coast suburb of Miami on July 12, 2020, police knocked on the door of Gabel’s room and tried to explain they were there to transfer him to the hospital.

A psychiatric assessment of Gabel following the incident found that he had smoked “a few cones” of prescription cannabis on that day prior to the police officers’ arrival, and had also taken pain medication including morphine, Tramadol and Temazepam at higher than prescribed doses.

Judge Vicki Loury KC sentenced Frank Alexander Gabel to two years jail, suspended for two years, in Bundaberg District Court.

The court heard Gabel refused to cooperate with police, and accused the officers of being bikies who were trying to harvest his body parts.

Judge Vicki Loury KC told the court police tried “for some hours” to convince Gabel to leave with them, after which he shut the door in the face of the officers and refused to further engage with them.

The court heard one of the officers then struck at the door with his heavy torch in order to gain entry to the room, splitting a wooden panel in the door.

Gabel then slid a knife through the gap in the door, which sliced the officer’s little finger and caused a stabbing injury to his middle finger.

Following this incident, the QPS Public Safety Response Team was called to the motel, and chemicals were used to gain entry to the room and arrest Gabel.

Gabel’s defence barrister, Callan Cassidy, told the court his client had been unable to work since the motorcycle accident and lived on the disability support pension, and was remorseful for his actions although he had not made an apology to the officer he had assaulted.

Mr Cassidy said he was instructed by Gabel that he had stopped taking medicinal cannabis, was taking his pain medication in the prescribed doses and was being case managed under the Community Treatment Authority including the receipt of monthly injections of his antipsychotic medication.

Judge Loury sentenced Gabel to two years imprisonment suspended for two years.