Strabane man sentenced for assaulting police in England

A STRABANE man has been jailed for 15 months after he was convicted of assaulting two female police officers in England.

Aaron Doherty (pictured) aged 31, pleaded guilty to two counts of assaulting an emergency service worker and one count of intentional strangulation.

He was sentenced at Plymouth Crown Court on Friday, December 8 last.

On the day the offences took place – August 29 last year – the female police officers stopped Doherty in Devonport shortly before 10pm, following information that he had breached the conditions of a court issued protection order.

As one officer attempted to arrest him, he locked his arms so that handcuffs couldn’t be applied safely and securely. He pushed one of the officers, causing her to fall and hit her head on the floor. He then pushed the second officer to the floor before running off and hiding in a nearby garden.

Both officers pursued Doherty, with one making attempts to detain and control him. The Strabane man grabbed her by the throat and as she told him, “You’re strangling me, I can’t breathe,” he continued to keep hold of her. He then grabbed hold of the other officer’s wrist and twisted it, causing her pain.

The officers were eventually able to gain control of Doherty and detain him until additional units arrived to provide support.

In interview Doherty told police that he had no intention of harming the officers and was unaware of the injuries caused by them falling.

Devon and Cornwall Patrol Inspector Roger Hocking said, “This incident has had a profound and lasting effect on two officers who attended that night. I want to praise them both for their professionalism and continued efforts to detain Doherty, after he had assaulted them both and fled.

“No one goes to work to be assaulted and violence against officers will not be tolerated. As this result shows, we will seek to bring offenders to justice for these offences.”