Woman turns life around after police assaults

Woman turns life around after police assaults

A WOMAN who seriously assaulted two police officers in Bundaberg was lucky to leave through the same open door she came in, when she fronted Gympie Magistrates Court on Thursday.

Kayla Jean Redshaw, 25, of Monkland, was at risk of being jailed for four police assaults in one night from June 2013. Police arrested the defendant in Targo St, the court heard, after she was evicted from a hotel and flashed her underwear at police and security officers. Screaming and swearing, the woman was put in the police van, when she ripped the glasses off two officers' faces and threw them on the ground. At the watchhouse, the defendant continued to struggle violently, kicking a male officer in the groin and spitting on a female officer's arm. "If you'd spat in the officer's face you'd definitely be going to jail," Magistrate Michael Bice told the defendant. He told the woman police had a very difficult job to keep, and spitting was not only disgusting, but degrading. Redshaw's lawyer Rachel Tierney told the court her client, a mother of four, had turned her life around and had not committed any offences since. "She was a very unwell woman at the time of the offences," Ms Tierney said, which led the charges to be sent to the mental health court initially.  "She has now taken steps to live a better life for her children and herself." The defendant was given a six-month jail term with immediate parole and a three-month jail term, suspended for 12 months. She was also ordered to pay each officer $300 for damage to property and $500 for personal trauma.