Sergeant Wayne Butcher says Aaron Andrew Channell deserved a longer prison sentence for Gladstone assault

“How do you read the mind of someone who does something like that to you”: Sergeant Wayne Butcher reacted to his attacker’s apology after he was left with life-threatening injuries. Here’s what he had to say about the man’s sentence.

The experienced and popular police officer who was brutally attacked by Aaron Andrew Channell says his attacker’s sentence is not good enough, and has rejected his attempt at an apology.

Sergeant Wayne Butcher was punched in the head and neck in an unprovoked assault while trying to arrest Channell over a high speed traffic incident in November 2020.

Channell’s actions caused a life-threatening blood clot to develop in Sergeant Butcher’s throat which required emergency surgery and ongoing treatment.

In his victim impact statement read to the court, Sergeant Butcher detailed the draining mental and physical health fallout of Channell’s attack.

“The constant threat of doing anything which could virtually kill me made me feel I was freaking out all the time and it was, ‘Is this it?’. Do you know what this does to a person’s mental health?” Mr Butcher said.

“I have eventually returned to work after five months but been advised I will be on blood thinners and aspirin for the rest of my life.

“This is so unfair and all due to the actions of Mr Channell, who has changed my life forever.

“I will not let the actions of Mr Channell destroy me as a person, I just hope Mr Channell realises that one can kill or wreck someone’s life.”

Gladstone Police Sergeant Wayne Butcher told The Observer his attacker deserved longer in prison after his assault in November last year.

A dejected Sergeant Butcher spoke exclusively with The Observer after Channell was sentenced to four and a half years prison, with a parole release date of May 26, 2022, on Tuesday afternoon.

“I don’t think the sentence was enough, but that’s the way it is and there is not much you can do about it,” he said.

“Then again he is a young fella who you hope has learnt his lesson.”

Aaron Andrew Channell.

Sergeant Butcher said he was unsure whether Channell could ever become a reformed man.

“How do you read the mind of someone who does something like that to you?” Mr Butcher asked.

“I hope he does, I really hope he does, but time will tell I suppose.”

Sergeant Butcher said he did not believe Channell’s apology, delivered to him through defence lawyer Tom Polley during proceedings, was sincere.

“It's just something the solicitor probably threw in as an extra rebate to get a bit of time off or something,” he said.

“A letter to me would be more personal I suppose, I don’t accept the apology.”

Originally published as Sergeant Wayne Butcher says Aaron Andrew Channell deserved a longer prison sentence for Gladstone assault