Mark Weatherley said the officers ‘deserved it’ and that he would do it again
A South London man who said two female police officers ‘deserved’ to be knocked out in a brutal attack has been locked up. Mark Weatherley, 43, launched a violent and unprovoked attack against the women leaving them with significant facial injuries.
Judge Christopher Grout told him: “These two officers had attended your property that day in order to help a member of the public, your mother, who they believed needed assistance. As a result of trying to help someone they were subjected to the most brutal of attacks.”
Police were called to reports of a disturbance at Weatherley’s mum’s address in Hatherley Road, Sidcup, at around noon on June 29. While the officers supported his mother, Weatherley returned on his bicycle, calling the female officers ‘f**king slags’ and ‘c**ts’.
As the officers moved to arrest him, Weatherley punched both officers in the face, returning to punch and kick his first target in the face while she was down. Weatherley then turned back to the other officer and punched her repeatedly in the face as he pinned her to a wall.
Support eventually arrived to detain Weatherley and the injured officers attended King’s College Hospital for treatment to multiple face fractures around the eye and cheek, and a broken nose and facial wounds.
Meanwhile, in the police van, Weatherley said: “I think I killed her; I think I snapped that girls’ neck when I punched her. She f**king (inaudible), that c**t. That’ll teach her for coming in my house without a search warrant and not leaving when I asked her to.”
In the station, he added: “They could have been two geezers, and I would have f**king killed them. The only reason I didn’t stamp on them was because they were women.”
He was jailed for eight years, plus four years on extended license, at Woolwich Crown Court on Friday (September 26), after admitting two counts of grievous bodily harm with intent.
Detective Chief Superintendent Trevor Lawry, who leads policing in the area, said: “This was an utterly horrific unprovoked attack on two officers who had attended the address in response to reports of a disturbance. As they attempted to arrest Weatherley he turned aggressive and violent, repeatedly punching and stamping on them. The level of hatred and violence directed towards the officers by Weatherley was deeply shocking and distressing.”
Weatherley could only be interviewed through his cell door due to his extreme violence, and when shown body-worn video of the attack he said the officers ‘deserved it’ and he would do it again. He claimed his actions as a result of times where he had been ‘harassed’ and had his life ‘ruined by police’ in the past He was charged and pleaded guilty on July 29.
This week the court heard Weatherley has previous convictions for assaulting emergency workers, racially aggravated assault, and malicious communications. The most recent conviction arose from Weatherley making hundreds of phone calls to a solicitor’s office threatening to harm staff, throw acid, and burn the building down.
James Bowker, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS London South, said: “We worked collaboratively with police – reviewing video footage, medical evidence and witness statements to build a watertight case against Weatherley and bring charges that reflected the seriousness and extent of his offending.
“Police officers do a brave and difficult job in protecting their local communities, and they should be able to do so safely and without fear. I hope today’s outcome demonstrates that the criminal justice system will always use the full weight of the law to protect emergency workers.”
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