Supreme Court jails man for headbutt, spitting attack on Launceston police officers

A 21-year-old man who spat on a female police officer and broke the nose of her male colleague during a “disgusting” attack in Launceston has been sentenced.

Levi James Rock pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court of Tasmania to two counts of assaulting a police officer, resisting police and using abusive language following an early morning incident at Riverbend Park on January 17, 2023.

A 21-year-old Tasmanian man, who spat on a female police officer and broke the nose of her male colleague during a “disgusting” attack in a popular Launceston park two years ago, has been sentenced to 12 months jail.

Levi James Rock pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court of Tasmania to two counts of assaulting a police officer, resisting police, and using abusive language following an early morning incident at Riverbend Park on 17 January, 2023.

The court heard that an alcohol-affected Rock had gone to the park to use its bathroom facilities when he became involved in a verbal dispute with a nearby group of people.

When attending police gave the defendant a lawful direction to move on, he refused, before physically resisting the male officer’s attempt to arrest him.

“While he was attempting to restrain you from behind, you leaned forward and then threw your head back deliberately, slamming the back of your head into his face,” Justice Michael Brett told Rock.

“He and other officers then took you to the ground and placed you in handcuffs. You continued to struggle and it became necessary for police to deploy OC spray.

“After this you became relatively subdued for a short time, but then again commenced to be argumentative, aggressive and verbally abusive. During the course of this, you committed the second assault, this time on the female officer.

“You raised your head from the ground and spat saliva at her, making contact with her face and other parts of her body.”

The court heard that the male officer was taken to hospital with a broken nose, and ultimately required surgery to repair a fracture.

Justice Brett said that despite the defendant’s youth, prior good record, and underlying psychological condition, a sentence of imprisonment was necessary to deter others from attacking police officers in the performance of their duty.

“On any view of it, your conduct on this occasion and in particular your physical attacks on these police officers constitutes criminal conduct of grave objective seriousness,” Justice Brett said.

“The assaults by you amounted to serious violence.

“The officers on this occasion were simply carrying out that duty and your response to them was appalling.

“Your attack on the female officer … was a deliberate, disgusting, and dangerous thing to do.

“It occurred after you had calmed down to some extent and was clearly designed to demean the officer and cause her all of the psychological harm which could be expected to result from the potential danger involved in spitting saliva in to a stranger’s face.”

Justice Brett sentenced Rock to 12 months’ imprisonment from 18 March 2025, but suspended the last six months of the term for a period of two years from the day of his release.