A police officer in Wales has detailed her experiences of being subjected to a horrific assault while on duty. South Wales Police PC Cara Roberts said the terrifying assault left her in tears driving home from work and fearing she had broken her nose or had her teeth knocked out.
PC Roberts, based in Aberdare, said the incident happened just a few months after she started her job with the force while she was trying to help a woman who was intoxicated and distressed. South Wales Police said there had been over 800 reports of its officers being assaulted whilst on duty since January this year, 31% of which happened in the mid-Glamorgan area.
After speaking with the woman PC Roberts said she agreed that she would go the hospital with PC Roberts and her colleague for a wellness check. "My colleague and I were waiting at the hospital with her when she tried to grab my colleague's work phone," she explained. "She became aggressive, shouting and swearing at us in the hallway before she pushed a wheelchair into my colleague."
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As a result PC Roberts restrained the woman and escorted her back to the police van. Whilst attempting to safely put her into the van and as PC Roberts reached to put her legs inside and close the cage door, she said the woman kicked out with force and made direct contact with her nose.
“I felt immediate pain and was bleeding and swollen," she said. "The pain was so bad that I was worried that she had broken my nose or that my front teeth had been knocked out."
PC Roberts said she had to be seen by nurses and have an x-ray after the violent assault but thankfully did not have a broken nose. She said she wanted to tell her story to highlight the treatment police officers receive while on duty. In May 2021 the joint emergency services group in Wales launched the #WithUsNotAgainstUs campaign to try and reduce the number of assaults on emergency workers.
Earlier this week it was reported that Wales has seen an increase in the number of assaults on emergency workers in the last 12 months with many workers being spat on, head butted and kicked. You can read the full report on that here.
“The assault did affect me, not just physically but also mentally. I cried driving home from work that morning," PC Roberts said. "I couldn’t understand why it had happened because I was polite and caring towards the woman, only trying my best to help her in a distressing time. It left me questioning myself and if I had done anything wrong.”
PC Roberts said what happened also affected her family and friends who were concerned about her safety as it was so early into her career. "As police officers we come to work to help people, we don’t come to work expecting to be assaulted. It does have a bigger impact than I think most people would realise.
“All I would ask of people is to take a second to remember that any emergency service worker is someone’s loved one, they deserve to be treated with respect." You can find out more about the #WithUsNotAgainstUs campaign here.
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