John Davies, 58, has been sentenced to 14 years and six months in prison after throwing boiling water over a police officer during an arrest at his home in Winson Green, Birmingham. The attack was captured on video and shows Davies punching one officer before dousing another with scalding water from a freshly boiled kettle.
Details of the Incident
Two constables responded to a disturbance at Davies' residence on Talbot Street. They found Davies trapping another individual against his garden fence. When officers separated the pair, the second man warned them that Davies was armed with a knife. Davies denied possessing a blade but then threw the contents of a hot beverage into the face of the other man.
Davies then struck one constable in the face before grabbing his kettle and emptying its boiling contents over the other officer. The female officer sustained blistering across her shoulders, back, and neck. She was heard saying: "I need an ambo. I've been scalded with a kettle."
Conviction and Sentence
Davies pleaded guilty to maliciously wounding the officer he scalded with intent to resist arrest, assaulting the officer he struck, and assaulting the individual involved in the initial dispute. At Birmingham Crown Court on June 26, he received a 14-and-a-half-year sentence and an extended licence period of four years.
Impact on the Officers
Det Con Manpreet Sidhu, from West Midlands Police's neighbourhood team in Bournville, said: "This was a horrendous attack on two officers going about their duties. You can see from the footage that Davies put up a struggle and it took many officers to restrain him so that he could be brought into custody. One of the officers involved suffered significant injuries and has only recently been able to return to work following this assault. No one should have to face this level of violence simply for doing their job. I hope the sentence delivered to Davies provides some justice for those involved. This will have a lasting impact on the officers but Davies is where he firmly belongs - in prison."
