Thomas Andrews: Prospect man sentenced for drunk swing at police officer

A drunk man who swung at a police officer on board a moving train has told a court he has spent months at a South American natural healing centre to try and manage his alcohol issues.

A drunk man who yelled at commuters and swung at a police officer on board a moving train has told a court he has previously spent months at a South American natural healing centre to try and manage his alcohol issues.

Thomas Daniel Andrews, 42, appeared before Penrith Local Court on Thursday to be sentenced for assaulting an officer on duty and failing to state his name and address on request after a wild ride home to Prospect in June.

Court documents show Andrews came to the police attention when they heard noise in a pedestrian tunnel about 10pm at Springwood. Moments later, they watched the man yell in the face of two people walking past.

Thomas Daniel Andrews.

The police fact sheet stated police approached the intoxicated 42-year-old and tried to move him on however he was belligerent and refused to provide his details.

Andrews was then arrested and after he was searched he told police officers he lived in the Blacktown area and needed to catch the train home.

Court documents reveal the police officers decided to allow the Prospect man to catch the train home as they would also be on board.

When Andrews saw the police officers on the train, he began swearing and said “why the f**k are you here? Why aren’t you f**king down there?”

Andrews was sentenced at Penrith Local Court.

As one of the police officers used his ‘MobiPol’ to identify Andrews next of kin who could look after him, the 42-year-old lunged forward to try and knock down the device.

Court documents state Andrews was warned not to assault police, but shortly after hit the same police officer on the hands.

Following his arrest he vomited in the caged police car and was taken to Nepean Hospital where he was admitted.

Andrews pleaded guilty to both charges and told the court he had a history of alcohol abuse.

Drinking is an ongoing issue,” he said. “I’ve tried various different psychologists on my own. I spent a couple of months in a natural healing centre in South America and the months since have been different to the 18 years before that.”

Magistrate James Gibson told Andrews he had a “bad record” but noted it was “probably out of character”.

Andrews was convicted of the assaulting the police officer and sentenced to a 12-month community corrections order. He was fined $300 for failing to state his details on request.