A police officer has been stabbed with a hunting knife, and protective body equipment saved the life of his colleague, when they were attacked by a man they were trying to arrest in Derry on Thursday, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has said.
Deputy Chief Constable Bobby Singleton said the weapon had a “five-inch serrated blade” and caused a three-inch laceration to the officer’s leg, which required stitches.
The second officer “had a blow from the knife basically delivered to their torso and, fortunately, because our officers have body armour to protect them, in that case it hasn’t penetrated,” he said.
“But the malicious and malign intent of that is really sinister, and clearly without that [body armour] we could have been dealing with a much more serious injury.”
RM Block
The North’s Minister for Justice, Alliance leader Naomi Long, said it was “beyond unacceptable” that there were so many attacks on police.
Ms Long said that in the new year she intends to introduce “legislation to provide for higher sentences for assaults on any person who is providing services to the public, performing a public duty or delivering a public service, including police officers.”
The attack took place early on Thursday morning, as PSNI officers were conducting inquiries in relation to a wanted person in the Collon Lane area of Derry.
Two other officers and a custody detention officer were also assaulted as they detained two “aggressive” men who were arrested on suspicion of a number of offences, including attempted murder.
All four police officers and the member of civilian staff are “thankfully safe at home with their families”, the police chief said.
DCC Singleton described knives as “probably the most significant threat to our officers here in Northern Ireland”, and said attacks happened “with an alarming degree of frequency.”
Figures released by the PSNI last week showed there had been more than 2,500 assaults on police in a 12-month period.
“Every officer that’s going out there out there today or tonight will have in the back of their mind that there’s the potential for an assault,” and it was important that the public and politicians demonstrate their support, he said.
Elaine Cormill from the Police Federation for Northern Ireland condemned the “vicious” attack and said it was “shocking that we stand here time and time again calling out the criminal behaviour and the attacks on our officers when they’re trying to do their job.”
She said the frequency of such incidents had an impact on morale and recruitment, and she believed the PSNI was “at the tipping point”, emphasising “the difficulties the Chief Constable has with his budget and the low numbers and the resources that just aren’t there to provide enough people to keep people safe.
“We are at our lowest point of numbers and resources, and we’re struggling to get the backup that people need.
“We’re trying to recruit young, new, diverse people into the organisation, and when things like this happen, it has to have an impact,” she said.
