Wiltshire's PCC responds to incident which left police officer injured

Mr Wilkinson said there is simply no excuse for an officer to be deliberately injured while on duty and anyone found guilty of such an offence should expect prosecution.

He said: "Those who put their lives on the line to defend, protect and keep communities safe should not have to fear for their life as they carry out their job.

“To hear a police officer has sustained serious injury at the hands of someone they were trying to apprehend saddens me greatly. I hope the officer makes a good recovery and is able to return to duty as soon as they are able but we must not under-estimate the mental effects, which can be long-lasting.

“We are all grateful the police officer escaped life-threatening injuries and has been able to return to their family but that shouldn’t detract from the fact this is utterly unacceptable – and the situation could so easily have been different. We all know of similar cases where the victim was not so fortunate.

“I have always been clear: any person assaulting an emergency service worker should expect to be prosecuted and feel the full force of the justice system. There is simply no excuse.”

Published Tuesday 26 April 2022