Georgia Law: Woman ran through Mitcham with knife after smoking weed

A woman in her early 20s slapped a hospital worker with her bloodied hand and ran through Mitcham streets with a knife after taking drugs.

Georgia Law was clutching a knife and had to be sedated with capsicum spray by PSO’s at Mitcham train station during an incident on November 21, 2020. Picture: Richard Serong

A drug-affected woman who slapped a hospital worker with her bloodied hand and threatened PSOs at an eastern suburbs railway station with a knife has escaped conviction.

Georgia Law, 24, pleaded guilty to unlawful assault and weapon possession charges from two separate incidents when she faced Ringwood Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, March 16.

The first incident occurred on December 11, 2019, when Law was recovering in Frankston Hospital after “a bad trip” from trying the drug LCD.

The court heard Law was yelling and screaming “you’re trying to kill me” in the early hours of the morning.

At 6am, she ripped the tape of her IV drip and spilt blood, before slapping the cheek of a nurse who had responded.

She later said in a police interview that she had mental health problems, was “ashamed by her behaviour” and “no one deserves to be hit a work”.

Nearly a year later on November 21, 2020, Law drank alcohol and smoked a small amount of cannabis at a friend’s house in Mitcham, where she became paranoid and grabbed a knife from the kitchen.

She left the house with the knife in hand and ran towards Mitcham railway station, where she asked PSOs for help as she was “scared of the male she was with”.

They asked her to let go of the knife, but she refused and instead walked towards the intersection of Mitcham and Canterbury roads.

She jumped on the bonnet of a stationary car, which had passengers inside, and yelled “please help me”, but fell off.

Officers used capsicum spray on Law and forcibly removed the knife from her hand, before she was taken to Maroondah Hospital for an assessment.

At Wednesday’s hearing, defence lawyer Deike Kemper said there was a “clear link” between her client’s mental health and drug use in her offending.

She said along with being remorseful for her behaviour, Law had since had extensive counselling and abstained from drugs, which she said was “a choice she has actively taken and is committed to”.

Ms Kemper also said her client was rebuilding her life living with her parents and working as a retail assistant at Fountain Gate Shopping Centre.

Magistrate Susan Armour told Law the two incidents were “very disturbing” and her drug use had a “catastrophic” impact on her behaviour.

She sentenced her to a 15-month good behaviour bond, taking into account her rehabilitative efforts and to spare her a conviction which could impact her future career.

She also ordered Law to continue to receive counselling and inform the court of her progress, so the community “has some comfort you have continued to address these issues”.

“It’s an opportunity to demonstrate your changed behaviour, and address issues so you are not damaging and frightening members of the public," Magistrate Armour said.