The Chief Constable has released a statement following the guilty verdict of James Doherty, who got his dog to bite a police officer as they tried to arrest him.
Chief Constable Russ Foster highlighted that there have been 41 assaults on police officers and 15 offences of resisting arrest in the last financial year.
The Chief Constable’s statement reads:
“All too frequently, police officers across the Isle of Man are subject to threats, abuse, intimidation and assault. Whilst the severity of such attacks may vary, the impact upon the individual does not. It is never acceptable to assume that assaults upon police officers are ‘part of the job’. The impact of an assault on a police officer is not always just physical, but often psychological as well. On a wider scale, morale is adversely affected when officers see their friends and colleagues being assaulted and abused. Morale and wellbeing are the key to efficient policing and all go hand in hand with providing an effective policing service to the Public. The Public call upon the police to help them when they are most in need and perhaps at their most vulnerable. We have a duty to protect the public from violent individuals, but we also have a duty as a society to protect police officers from being assaulted too.
In the last financial year across the Island, there were 41 assaults on police officers and 15 offences of resisting arrest. These offences vary in their scale and impact, but each and every assault has an impact on the individual and upon policing. Ultimately, it should be remembered that police officers are people; they are fathers, mothers, sons and daughters. When they are attacked, they become victims just like any other person, but more often than not they become victims as a result of trying to protect others from being victimised. The impact of an assault on a police officer is not just upon the individual. Each time a police officer is assaulted there is the potential for absence from work or restrictions in their ability to perform their duty. These absences and restrictions impact on resourcing and inhibit the ability of the Constabulary to deliver frontline policing. They also place additional strain on other members of the organisation due to the transfer of work to them. Collectively, assaults can have a significant impact on the wider wellbeing of police officers across the Constabulary.
This particular case relates to an abhorrent attack on a female officer who was assaulted during the execution of her duty, whereby the perpetrator, James Doherty resisted arrest and instructed his dog to bite the officer which it proceeded to do. As a result, the officer sustained a dog bite to her right thigh which required her attendance at the Accident and Emergency Department at Nobles Hospital, where she received medical treatment to the wound and the administration of medication in the form of a tetanus injection and a course of anti-biotics. This particular assault was further aggravated by the clear lack of respect towards the female officer who was effecting the suspect’s arrest and indicative of a propensity of violence towards women, which must not be tolerated under any circumstances.
I really welcome the outcome today which should be seen as a deterrent to other perpetrators, whilst also reassuring my officers that they have the support of the judiciary who will not tolerate the officers who police the Isle of Man being subject to abuse, intimidation and violence.”
5 Comments