Thug who brutally bashed police officer walks free
HE BASHED a police officer so badly she needed surgery and is now scared to do her job. But the thug has been given just 200 hours’ community service.
WARNING: Graphic images
AN ICE-ADDICTED thug who left a female police officer needing dental surgery after a sickening assault has been handed a measly 200 hours’ community work.
The decision has enraged the Police Association union, which has attacked the courts for not jailing Ahmed El Lababidi, 26.
In April, he attacked the 29-year-old senior constable — repeatedly punching her in the face — as she was making an arrest at Glenroy, Melbourne.
The Glenroy resident faced multiple charges, including one of assaulting an emergency worker, which carries a mandatory six months’ jail.
However, the charges were dropped after it was argued there were exceptional circumstances in his case due to mental illness, according to Herald Sun reports.
The paper reported that the officer’s teeth punctured her lip, one tooth had to be extracted, and she needed reconstructive dental surgery. She told the paper the attack cost her more than $15,000 and left her suffering nightmares.
Sergeant Wayne Gatt told 3AW the Police Association and its members were shocked at the light sentencing handed out by the courts.
“We just don’t get it,” he told the station. “What has to happen before we start seeing some fair dinkum sentences coming out of court?
“We see this time and time again ... We see mental illness used as an excuse.
“If we allow them to do this to us we’re effectively green-lighting crime in Victoria.”
The policewoman told the Herald Sun she doesn’t want to be on the front line because of what happened to her.
“I love my job — it’s not something I want to change. But definitely I’ve got a different attitude towards what I want to do,” she told the newspaper.
“I don’t want to be out there on the front line. It’s the most dangerous part of the job.
“(The attack) definitely impacts on your feeling of safety at work.
“There is always a lot more doubt in your mind because you’ve had a bad experience.
“It’s not how you should do your job — to have that mentality that everybody is out to get you. But you never know who is.”
Gatt told 3AW that ice addiction may be a “contributing factor” to the crime, but it is not an excuse.
“We have to wake up to ourselves here,” he told the station. “We’ve got to stop making excuses for people committing serious offences in the community and endangering the community, as has occurred on this occasion.”
A spokesman for the Office of Public Prosecutions said the sentence is under review for possible appeal. The matter returns to court next month.
benjamin.graham@news.com.au or follow @bengrahamjourno on Twitter