THE violent offender who attacked South Yorkshire Police PC Dan Lumley, leaving him with a broken nose, permanent scarring and a loss of smell, has been jailed for 20 months.<\/p>\n
The horrific assault has proven the case why stronger sentences are required for people who attack officers and blue light emergency workers, South Yorkshire Police Federation said.<\/p>\n
Adam Burgin, from Rotherham, assaulted PC Lumley as he attended a disturbance in Pingles Crescent in the town in September last year.<\/p>\n
PC Lumley was dragged to the ground and repeatedly punched in the face. Burgin was given the 20-month sentence at Sheffield Crown Court.<\/p>\n
The incident has made PC Lumley question his future career with the force. South Yorkshire Police Federation Chair Steve Kent said the horrifying ordeal had strengthened the case for tougher sentences to be handed down to people who carry out assaults on officers.<\/p>\n
Steve said: \u201cThankfully, there was a custodial sentence in this case – but was it enough? Not in our view, nowhere near.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust seeing the pictures of Dan\u2019s injuries, there\u2019s absolutely no getting away from how horrifically severe they are and what they\u2019re going to leave him with, and then when you see the light nature of the actual sentencing, it really is frustrating.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had a lot of public support on this one; a lot of people are behind us and saying it\u2019s appalling.<\/p>\n
\u201cSadly, it\u2019s not an exclusive example, but it is an illustrative example of what our officers are up against.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Federation wants to see any assault against an officer which causes them injury to carry at least an automatic six-month prison term.<\/p>\n
Steve added: \u201cThe overwhelming reaction from the decent public is attacks like this are just appalling. They say for people like this, we should throw away the key.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor any assault that causes an injury to an officer we want a minimum prison term of six months.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs an officer, if someone pushes past me and pushed my arm, I don\u2019t expect them to go to prison for that. But if someone punches me in the face or breaks my nose, it should be mandatory six months, no questions asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cSentences aren\u2019t hard enough\u2026 there has to be a deterrent.\u201d<\/p>\n