Steven John Cleary jailed for ‘sickening’ baseball attack on cops

Victoria Police wants to appeal the “disappointing” jail sentence handed to a thug for a sickening attack that left two officers “potentially moments from death”.

Victoria Police wants to appeal the sentence of a thug who attacked two police officers with a baseball bat in a shocking attack captured on camera.

Steven John Cleary was jailed for a minimum of one year and 10 months for attacking two police officers with the metal bat after they demanded a boy wear a mask

But the length of the sentence was slammed by Police Association secretary Wayne Gatt, who labelled the attack one of the most serious assaults he’d seen on officers in uniform.

On Friday afternoon, Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said the force intends to appeal the sentence.

“Today a man was sentenced to three years and two months imprisonment, with a minimum of one year and 10 months, for assaulting two of our members in Warrnambool in October last year,” Mr Patton said.

“I am disappointed with this outcome and have asked for a submission to be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions requesting an appeal based on an inadequate sentence.”

Bodycam footage shows Cleary carrying out the ‘sickening’ attack.

Cleary was captured on the officer’s body-worn cameras striking at police with the weapon as the teenager grabbed for one officer’s gun on a suburban street in Warrnambool in October last year.

The 50-year-old can be seen in graphic images repeatedly striking an officer with “immense force” while the officer was on the ground in the foetal position, clutching his head in pain.

Senior Constable Rowan Baldman described “his vision going blurry, his head shaking, the extreme pain, and not knowing whether he was standing or on the ground”.

“He felt as though he was going to die if the attack continued,” the County Court heard on Friday.

Cleary this week pleaded guilty to three charges including intentionally cause serious injury, assault emergency worker on duty and affray.

The Warrnambool father sat with his head in his hands as Judge Anne Hassan ordered him to spend at least one year and 10 months behind bars for the serious armed assault.

“It is intolerable that police carrying out routine duties in broad daylight on public streets are set upon and subjected to violence of this magnitude,” Judge Hassan said.

Senior Constable Rowan Baldman says he felt as though he was going to die if the attack continued. Picture: Channel 9

“It is intolerable that members of the public witnessed such horrific violence erupting on their streets and in their community,” she said.

The violence was sparked after Sen Con Baldman and Constable William Ringin stopped a teenager on McGennan St shortly after 4pm and asked him why he was not wearing a face mask.


Cleary suddenly pulled up in a car, walked slowly to the officers and demanded they “get your hand off him” as he pulled a baseball bat from its sheath.

“You arrived armed and angry and it is sickening to watch Senior Constable Baldman being subjected to your repeated blows,” Judge Hassan said.

The minute-long ambush only ended when Cleary was struck to the head with a police baton after he fired a dropped taser at Constable Ringin.

After Cleary was apprehended and held to the ground, he demanded the officers let him go and repeatedly stated: “Gentleman, I am the King, get your hands off me”.



The court heard Cleary had been assessed as suffering a delusional disorder at the time of the offending but had refused any mental health treatment.

Cleary was eventually tasered.

Judge Hassan said she accepted his moral culpability was reduced given his impaired mental state, but noted he still remained a risk to the community given his irrationality and unwillingness to engage in treatment.

Judge Hassan also took into account Cleary’s early guilty plea in sentencing him to a maximum three years and two months prison.

Sen Con Baldman required plastic surgery to fix a fracture to his left thumb and suffered a cut to his right temple and swelling.

In a victim impact statement to the court, he said he often begins to cry uncontrollably at the thought of what happened and is worried he will never feel safe at work again.

Earlier this week, Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said the attack was “horrendous” and “disgusting”.

“Our members don’t deserve that, to go to work and end up bloody and bruised,” Mr Patton said.

“We all too often see assaults on our members who are just going about their business and as something as mundane as requesting someone about wearing a mask,” he said.

‘Potentially moments away from death’

Police Association secretary Wayne Gatt has slammed the “disappointing” sentence saying it sends a worrying message to the entire police force.

“In all my time in policing this is one of the most serious and premeditated assaults I’ve seen on two police officers in uniform,” Mr Gatt said.

“For them to be set upon in the way that they were … the word shocking doesn’t accurately describe the degree of that assault,” he said.

Mr Gatt said the offending fell at the “extreme top end” with the two officers “potentially moments away from death”.

In her sentencing, Judge Hassan took into account Cleary’s impaired mental state at the time of offending, including that his belief he was the “King of Australia” and was not subject to police authority was “directly causally linked to (his) offending”.

“Indeed, it is the only explanation,” she said.

Mr Gatt said he made no direct criticism of Judge Hassan herself, saying she had a “very difficult decision” to make which was “hampered by the system”.

“The system makes it difficult for the courts to perhaps apply a sentence which is perhaps an appropriate one when you see this at the top end, we worry about the precedent this sets,” he said.

“We understand the considerations the courts must make, but we ask the courts (and) we ask those who are charged with making the systems better, what message does this send to serving police officers?”

“If mental health continues to be this supposed free kick, it’s disproportionate we think,” he said.

“I also worry about what prospective police officers might be thinking when they see results like this; should I join Victoria Police? Will the system support me? Is it safe?”