Police officer ‘appalled’ by ‘disgusting’ sentence given to woman who hit her

A Leicestershire police officer has criticized as “disgusting” the sentence given to a woman who hit her as she tried to run from officers. PC Niamh Harriman said she believed she might have been killed by the woman and was still struggling mentally after the incident, which left her with multiple injuries.

PC Harriman and her colleagues were trying to remove the woman’s children from her care after concerns were raised for their safety. However, the woman tried to drive off with one of the children and in the process drove over PC Harriman’s leg as he tried to retrieve the car keys through the open passenger door. The incident, from February this year, knocked the officer to the floor. The unlicensed driver then ran over the thigh.

PC Harriman suffered a sprained hip, swollen ankle and leg and extensive bruising to his thigh, as well as cuts and scrapes to his face and hands. While the pain has subsided, the officer revealed he is suffering long-term damage. She said: “I’ve recovered physically now, but as time went on it affected me more mentally. I feel nervous and anxious going into jobs without a reservation, which I’ve never really worried about before.” She added: “I joined the job to protect people and you don’t think these things are going to happen to you.”

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As PC Harriman lay in the back following the incident, the woman continued to reverse her vehicle until she crashed into another car. PC Harriman’s colleagues later arrested her for dangerous driving and assaulting an emergency worker.

The woman appeared at Leicester Crown Court earlier this month after pleading guilty to a number of offences, including two counts of assaulting an emergency worker and single counts of dangerous driving and driving without a licence. She was sentenced to 52 weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months, given a drug rehabilitation order and disqualified from driving.

PC Harriman said: “I am frankly appalled by the sentence. I think it’s disgusting that he can use a car as a weapon, so that’s an aggravating factor, and then he gets a slap on the wrist for what he did.

“She could have killed me. I feel let down by the criminal justice system. I don’t come to work to be bullied.”

The injuries meant the officer was off duty for three weeks. She is now back at work, but said every day was difficult, while the prospect of going out on her own worried her. She said: “I lost my confidence a bit. I have been in the service for over five years and I have been assaulted before, things like a slap or a kick.

“But it opened my eyes to how dangerous the job is. My dad is also a police officer and always texts me to say “Be safe”. He was very upset when this happened. My family was worried about me coming back.”

Officials from the Leicestershire Police Federation also criticized the sentence. Chairman Andy Spence labeled her “unfortunate”. He said: “The court’s sentence is weak and unfortunate and does nothing to deter criminals from assaulting their officers. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident.”

According to Mr Spence, more than 50,000 attacks on police officers were recorded in Britain last year – the equivalent of one attack every 10 minutes. In Leicestershire, he said, 890 attacks had taken place in the past 12 months.

Spence said: “Every day more than two Leicestershire Police officers are attacked in the line of duty; 17 attacks per week. This is unacceptable.

“An offender used his car to deliberately run over an officer and received no effective punishment. She used the vehicle as a weapon. She didn’t have a driver’s license anyway, so the disqualification from driving won’t mean anything to her. This is not justice for Niamh and sends no deterrent to the offender.”

An earlier version of this story said the woman received a two-week jail sentence, suspended for 18 months. The information provided to us was incorrect. In fact the sentence was 52 weeks suspended for 18 months.

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