Young girl who assaulted police officer causing bodily harm walks free

A 17-year-old girl has avoided detention after a drunken assault that left a police officer off work for six months with a broken finger. The teenager, who was 16 at the time of her crimes, was charged with assaulting and obstructing a public officer when she was in the Albany CBD with relatives about 4.30am on June 28. For an adult, the charge of assaulting a public officer causing bodily harm carries a mandatory six-month jail term. The girl appeared in Albany Children’s Court last Friday for sentencing. Police prosecutor Sgt Dave Loverock told the court the girl was near Studio 146 on Stirling Terrace when she got into a fight with her sister. Police tried to intervene but the teenager resisted arrest, Sgt Loverock said. “The accused has kicked at the officers then thrown herself on the ground, causing her jacket to go over her head in which she said she couldn’t breathe,” Sgt Loverock said. The girl was banging her head on the concrete, swearing and calling police racist, Sgt Loverock said. She then punched an officer in the face with her right hand and kicked out at their body, legs and hands, breaking one of their fingers. Lawyer Janie Gibbs said her client had drunk alcohol on the night and she knew she should not have been out in the early hours of the morning. Ms Gibbs said family feuding led to the girl’s older sister attacking her before another sister started to get arrested, prompting her to go to her aid. “She is extremely remorseful, horrified by her own behaviour, and hasn’t drunk since that night,” Ms Gibbs said. Ms Gibbs said she was aware detention was a “real possibility” but she believed a conditional release order was appropriate. Magistrate Dianne Scaddan said the girl’s young brain needed time to develop, which would not be helped by drinking alcohol. The magistrate imposed a four-month juvenile conditional release order requiring the girl to be supervised and to complete youth programs.