Trent Shawn Thomsen pleads guilty to assault of a police officer, public nuisance

An Ipswich court has heard a man who tried to take on police only weighs about 50kg and was injured in the confrontation.

An Ipswich dad suffered broken ribs after punching a police officer in the chin.

An Ipswich dad who tips the scales at about 50kg has been warned about taking on police officers twice his size, after his repeated run-ins with the law ended badly for him.

When the slightly-built offender Trent Thomsen went before Ipswich Magistrates Court for sentence for assaulting police and public nuisance offences, it was revealed he suffered broken ribs in one of the physical encounters.

The court heard he punched the officer after getting himself involved while police were trying to arrest another man.

Trent Shawn Thomsen, 51, a father of three from Booval, pleaded guilty to over two dozen offences including serious assault causing bodily harm to a police officer at Ipswich; four charges of public nuisance; four charges of obstructing police; stealing; trespass; wilful damage; driving while SPER suspended; and breach of his bail.

The offences took place between January 2019 and April 2021.

Prosecutor Sergeant Nicholas Turnbull said Thomsen’s history was peppered with offences of violence.

“No police officer should ever be assaulted when on duty doing their job,” Sgt Turnbull said.

“He punched him. We all know the seriousness of what one punch can do.

“I understand there may be mitigating personal circumstances but he is a mature man and to be involved is abhorrent.”

Sgt Turnbull said such offenders should not expect police to then sit back as officers would use appropriate force to protect themselves.

No police facts detailing precisely what took place in the incidents were read onto the public record to give context to what occurred.

Police sought a jail penalty of 12 months.

Magistrate Dennis Kinsella, after reading the written agreed police facts, said Thomsen should realise police were there to assist him and to get him away to a safer environment, not to give him a hard time.

Defence barrister Terry Strong argued that the mitigating factors of Thomsen’s background, and ongoing issues including personal trauma, should bring the sentence down to nine months.

He said the court should look at Thomsen with a weight of around “seven stone” and the way he wanted to “punch on” with 90kg police officers nearly twice his size.

Mr Strong said Thomsen had difficulty in understanding logic that he should simply not get himself involved in police matters that did not involve him.

“He knows it is stupid when he challenges police twice his size that he is going to lose in every way in confrontation,” Mr Strong said.

“He actually ended up in hospital with broken ribs. Multiple ribs were broken.’”

Mr Kinsella said Thomsen had “the sympathy of the court” for his horrendous experiences earlier in life.

He said there appeared to be a destructive element in his public nuisance offences.

Mr Kinsella said police were dealing with people who had been in a fight when Thomsen got involved and started swearing.

When police went to arrest a person Thomsen punched the officer in the chin, causing a cut.

Mr Kinsella took into account his personal circumstances, mental health factors and past childhood traumas.

He was sentenced to nine months jail for the serious assault and to lesser concurrent jail orders, and granted immediate parole.