Shocking footage captures assaults on Warwickshire police officers while on duty

Shocking footage captures the moment an officer was punched

A police officer has spoken out of the abusive threats and assaults they have received while on duty.

Two officers, who have chosen not to be named, were left grappling on the floor on a dark country lane with a man they had pulled over for speeding in the early hours of 10 March.

It comes as there are an average of 24 assaults a month against their officers and staff, Warwickshire Police has said.

Meanwhile, Anthony Wilde, who's 34-years-old, from Atherstone was jailed for two years for the assault.

He became aggressive when he was stopped for speeding on Knowle Hill in Atherstone and punched one officer who was trying to get him out of the way of oncoming traffic.

One officer was wrestled to the ground, forced head-first into a thorn bush.

One of the officers had to go to hospital due to the injuries they sustained during the assault.

The officers said: "When you get assaulted you replay it quite a lot in your head.

"I struggled to sleep, I had to go and visit my family to talk about it."

When one of the officers tried to take Wilde's arm to stop him from walking out into traffic, he punched them.

In the ensuing struggle, the officers managed to get a handcuff on his left wrist.

When he threw another punch he cut the officer's face with the handcuff, which has left them with a scar.

He threatened to head-butt the officers and told them: "I could ruin your life right now."

He said: "How long are your colleagues going to be? I could've f****** done anything to you."

One of the officers said: "In my head I thought 'how am I getting out of this, am I getting home?' You're desperate for people to come and help you."

One of the officers had to go to hospital for x-rays on their shoulders and elbow and to get thorns pulled out of their leg.

The officers said: "I think the community would feel differently about it if it was one of their family members working in the police."

"We take this uniform off and we're just normal people like everyone else.

"We just want to make it home really."

The officers managed to place Wilde under arrest, as other police officers and a police dog came to help.

Deputy Chief Constable Alex Franklin-Smith said: "Police officers are people, first and foremost – they are fathers, mothers, sons, daughters; they have family members and friends who care for them and worry about them.

"Violence against officers is not acceptable for the same reasons that violence against anyone else is not acceptable. It is not just part of the job.

"Thank you to the officers who were interviewed for this video for coming forward to tell their story – a story that too many of our officers can relate to on a personal level – so that the public we serve can hear it too."

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