Katie Bice: No excuse for this vile treatment of ambos

THE public won’t tolerate attacks on emergency service workers — they should be respected and valued — and court decisions must reflect that, writes Katie Bice.

EMERGENCY service workers are off limits. If you touch them you’ll go to jail. That’s what the community expects. We don’t care if you’re young, old, a parent or a carer. We don’t care if you’ve had a tough upbringing, you’ve got problems with drugs or alcohol. We don’t care if you’re sick and jail will be hard on you.

That’s because we respect and value emergency service workers. If you assault them, abuse them, threaten them while they are working for us, we will punish you. Not just a little bit, a lot.

PATIENT SPITS AT, PUNCHES PARAMEDIC

TWO MORE PARAMEDICS BASHED OVERNIGHT

CRACKDOWN PLEDGED AFTER PARAMEDIC BASHERS DODGE JAIL

That’s why the outcry over the sentencing this week of paramedic bashers Amanda Warren and Caris Underwood has been deafening. Both women pleaded guilty to intentionally causing injury after kicking, punching and breaking the foot of Paul Judd as he attended to a patient in Reservoir in 2016.

Warren also ripped a chain from Mr Judd’s neck and rammed the ambulance with a car. They had taken exception to Mr Judd asking them to move back.

A sensible magistrate jailed the pair for their “unprovoked and very vicious” attack. But they walked free when their sentences were cut on appeal. The judge noted their young age, troubled childhoods and problems with drug, alcohol and mental health.

If you assault, abuse, threaten paramedics while they are working for us, we will punish you.

Paramedic, Paul Judd was crushed by the court ruling allowing his attackers to be spared jail. Picture: David Crosling

An X-ray of paramedic Paul Judd’s foot after his attack.

‘‘It’s probably no comfort to you,’’ the judge told Mr Judd, ‘‘but hopefully they can become useful members of the community.’’

Here’s the problem. Mr Judd already is a “useful” member of our community and has been for 40 years. These women are not. In return for Mr Judd’s service to the community, he is now unable to work and has had a great injustice served upon him.

The fact that a mandatory jail term exists for assaulting a paramedic, firefighter or police officer should tell the judiciary how seriously we take this issue. Legislation which allows a “get out” clause for those with special circumstances should apply only to the one in a million case no one envisaged when they made the law.

It’s certainly not supposed to apply to the pair who broke Mr Judd’s foot. They are as ordinary as you can get — in every way.

Outside court, Mr Judd said to use drugs, alcohol or mental health as an excuse was the easy way out: “It leaves the door open for everybody to have an excuse to do what they want with no repercussions. People have to take responsibility for what they do.”

Right on, Mr Judd.

Katie Bice is the Sunday Herald Sun deputy editor

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