Man who smashed windscreens, kicked officer appeals sentence

THE assaulted officer had back pain after the incident, in which he was kicked against a wall.

A man who assaulted police and smashed windscreens on two police vehicles has appealed his sentence. Picture: Richmond Police District

A MAN who assaulted police and smashed up their vehicles has successfully appealed his sentence.

George Alexander Dickson, 42, sat silently in the dock of Lismore District Court for his appeal hearing on Thursday.

Dickson, from Noarlunga Downs in South Australia, had been sentenced to two years' prison, with a non-parole period of 18 months, for assaulting and resisting police and two counts of destroy or damage property.

The court heard police found Dickson with a bowl of cannabis in Nimbin on May 7 last year, and when they gave him a move-on direction he refused.

He was arrested and charged with a separate count of resisting police - which was not part of the appeal proceedings - before being taken to Lismore Police Station.

There, Dickson resisted police before kicking an officer in the stomach.

This impact forced the officer against a wall, causing back pain which lasted several days.

When he was released from custody early the following day, Dickson smashed the front and rear windscreens of two police vehicles with a large rock.

Crown prosecutor Mala Wadhera said the damage to police vehicles was serious as it was "an attack on a public resource".

"It's an act which does put out (of service) an extremely important resource that's used to protect the community," she said.

Solicitor Katharine Brady said her client's offences were not of the most serious variety.

She told the court Dickson had been released from custody with no shoes and no transport to his possessions, which were in Nimbin.

She asked Judge Wells to take into account her client's limited criminal history - which included no prior offences in NSW and minor matters interstate - and his time already spent in custody.

The court heard her client had been in custody since May 7 last year, with the exception of his brief release on May 8.

Judge Wells found Dickson's punishment had been too great for his crimes.

She imposed a new sentence of one year and three months, backdated to the time of his arrest.

Dickson will be eligible for parole from next Thursday. (Feb 7)