A third of police officers have been assaulted, says union

A POLICE union has trolled lawmakers with social media posts that reveal shocking cop bashing statistics — after a spate of horrific assaults on officers.

A third of Police Association Victoria members say they were assaulted last year. Source: Facebook/The Police Association Victoria.

VICTORIA’S Police Association has launched a scathing social media smackdown on lawmakers and the state’s legal system.

In two posts on its Facebook page, the union states that a startling number of its members have faced violence.

“1 in 3 members tell us they were assaulted in the last year,” the union posted. “Would you support harsher penalties for those who attack our police?”

In another post, the union quotes an officer saying what makes his job so difficult.

“Not going to lie, this job would be a lot easier if we didn’t have to keep rearresting the same offenders,” the officer is quoted as saying.

It comes after an officer was injured while trying to deal with 150 “loud and abusive” teenagers near a music festival in Torquay last week.

After being ejected, youths reportedly ran riot at a nearby pub and one of them attacked a police officer, leaving him with cuts to his face.

A 17-year-old boy has been arrested in relation to the incident and is being charged on summons with assaulting a police officer, being drunk in a public place and other related offences.

The union was at the fore of furious backlash against a decision to grant bail to another alleged cop basher — who is reported to have kicked a young officer in the head.

The officer was crouching on the ground while attempting to arrest a 16-year-old boy for alleged shoplifting at Melbourne’s Highpoint shopping centre, Maribyrnong, on Boxing Day afternoon when another boy ran up and launched the attack. He was held back by another boy before they both ran off.

“This is what disrespect looks like, for our police, for our law and for the community,” Police Association secretary Wayne Gatt told the Herald Sun.

“When a person trying to uphold the law and protect the community comes home from their day at work looking like this, there is a real problem.”

A 17-year-old from Point Cook was charged with offences that include assaulting an emergency worker on duty, and intentionally and recklessly causing injury.

It was the second time Gatt spoke out about cop bashing and state’s legal system in December — after an ice-addicted thug left a female police officer needing dental surgery.

After the sickening assault, Ahmed El Lababidi, 26, was sentenced to 200 hours’ community work.

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.

Wayne Gatt has spoken out about cop bashing in the past month. Picture: Nicole Garmston/ News Corp Australia.

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.

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.”

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