Rosemarie Jane Loader dislocated a cop’s finger and assaulted an ambo

The 52-year-old was drunk and agitated when she assaulted a cop and ambulance officer who were trying to help her.

Rosemarie Jane Loader leaves Toowoomba Courthouse after being sentenced for assaulting a policeman and an ambulance officer.

A 52-YEAR-OLD woman who attacked a policeman and an ambulance officer who were trying to help her has been handed a jail sentence.

The senior constable had attended the Evanslea home of Rosemarie Jane Loader on March 30 but she had approached him with a dog on a leash, threatening to let the dog loose on him, Toowoomba Magistrates Court heard.

Early the next morning, the policeman and an ambulance officer had returned to the home near Mt Tyson to do a welfare check, the court heard.

However, the 52-year-old was drunk and agitated and pulled the ambulance officer through a doorway, leaving him with a scratch to his arm, before assaulting the police officer.

During the ensuing altercation, she grabbed the policeman’s hand, twisting his finger sideways, the court heard.

The senior constable was left with a dislocated finger and a cracked knuckle from the incident for which he had to have medical treatment.

The policeman sustained tendon damage and had to be put on light duties for a time, the court heard.

Loader pleaded guilty to serious assault of a police officer, obstructing police and obstructing an ambulance officer arising from those incidents.

She also pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified and to failing to comply with duties of a driver involved in a crash relating to an incident on the Gore Highway, near Southbrook, on November 6 last year.

The court heard Loader had driven into a power pole, reversed, crashed the car again and then drove off.

Her solicitor Chris Neville, of Condon Charles Lawyers, told the court his client had issues with alcohol and matters had got out of hand.

“This was essentially a welfare check and a nuclear bomb’s gone off,” he said.

Loader was a dog breeder but had for 20 years been a truck driver and she suffered post traumatic stress disorder as the result of a traffic crash, he said.

She was remorseful for her behaviour and had contacted the police station asking about the condition of the police officer, Mr Neville said.

Magistrate Kay Ryan noted Loader had no criminal history for the past 10 years but warned her police and ambulance officers should be able to do their jobs without suffering injury.

Ms Ryan sentenced her to four months jail, with immediate parole, placed her on 14 months probation and disqualified her from driving for two years.