Police Association of NSW president Tony King calls for harsh penalties for assault of officers

Following the alleged assaults of police officers in Sydney’s CBD over the past two weekends, Police Association president Tony King has described an escalation in the severity of incidents.

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NSW cops are fed up with being used as “punching bags” for violent thugs as they report an escalation in the severity of attacks on on-duty officers.

That’s according to Tony King, the president of the Police Association of NSW, who has called for harsher punishments for those who assault police trying to protect the community.

Mr King said there are about 2500 assaults against police each year in NSW — an average of 50 per week — a rate that was “completely unacceptable”.

“On the weekend just gone we saw another five officers assaulted in incidents across NSW,” he said.

“What some people seem to have forgotten is that our police are women and men, just like the rest of us. They're part of the community. They’re mums, dads, daughters, sons, sisters and brothers.

“They have families they go home to after a shift. They have children who ask how they got that black eye; who hurt them — and worse, when they’re coming home from hospital.”

Police Association of NSW president Tony King said the rate of thugs assaulting officers was “completely unacceptable”. Picture: AAP IMAGE/ Matthew Vasilescu

It comes after alleged assaults on police officers in Sydney’s CBD over the past two weekends.

One allegedly resulted in a female officer being taken to hospital with a broken nose after being punched in the face outside a Darling Harbour bar on May 26.

The following weekend a male constable was allegedly grabbed by the throat and his partner pulled to the ground during an arrest in Haymarket on June 2.

The maximum penalty for assaulting a police officer in the execution of duty in NSW is 14 years’ prison.

Data from the Bureau of Crime Statistics and research show the number of assaults against police officers in NSW was stable between 2014 and 2018, with 2458 incidents recorded last year.

Mr King said those wearing the badge know the dangers of policing, however, he said the men and women who put their lives on the line to protect the community “deserve to be respected”.

“Police are sick and tired of being used as punching bags by thugs. No one should be assaulted just for doing their job,” he said.

“Anecdotally, it seems as though we’re not only seeing huge numbers of assaults against police, but the severity of assaults also seems to be increasing.

“We need a court system that delivers tough penalties for anyone who assaults an officer, and we also need to see a shift in attitude within the community.”