Widnes man jailed after assaulting two female police officers

A man from Widnes has been jailed for assaulting two female police officers in the town.

Shane Trivass, of Peel House Lane, punched one of the officers in the face as she attempted to arrest him shortly before 4.30am on Sunday 21 June.

The 22-year-old then grabbed and dragged her by the hair before punching the Police Constable in the face for a second time.

A colleague came to the officer’s aid, only for Trivass to punch her in the face as well.

He also twisted her wrist to get free from her grip before fleeing on foot.

The incident left the first officer that Trivass assaulted with three haematomas (solid swellings of clotted blood), concussion, two black eyes and a cut on her head that needed to be glued at hospital.

The other officer sustained a swollen and bruised cheek, a cut lip and sore fingers.

The incident also left the officers with physiological damage.

Colleagues located and arrested Trivass shortly after the incident. He told them ‘I can’t handle my drink’ and ‘the best thing you can do is charge me’.

However, he refused to answer any questions whilst in custody.

Trivass was subsequently charged with assaulting a person and causing them actual bodily harm, as well as assaulting an emergency service worker.

He pleaded guilty to the offences and was sentenced at Chester Crown Court on Tuesday 21 July.

Trivass was sentenced to 12 months in a young offenders’ institution.

Following his sentencing, Inspector Neil Anson, of Widnes Local Policing Unit, said: “The two officers were responding to reports of a man being aggressive in the early hours of the morning and potential damage to properties.

“They located Shane Trivass on Gavin Road. He was stood with his arms out, indicating that he was ready to be handcuffed.

“As one of the PCs attempted to do this after asking him if he was okay, Trivass flew into a violent rage.

“The unprovoked assaults caught the officers completely by surprise and caused them significant physical, as well as physiological, damage.

“They are receiving ongoing specialist support to help them recover from the traumatic ordeal that Trivass subjected them to.

“I hope the fact that Trivass is now behind bars facing the consequences of his actions provides them with some closure, and I also hope this case deters others from assaulting police officers and any other emergency service workers.”

On top of his custodial sentence, Trivass was ordered to pay a £156 victim surcharge.

Superintendent Laura Marler, who oversees policing in Widnes, said: “The nature of policing inevitably requires officers to deal with violent and challenging situations, but, regardless of the situation, being assaulted by a member of the public we serve should never be seen as an acceptable ‘part of the job’.

“To assault an officer, or any other emergency service worker, is to attack society itself.

“Officers being taken off the streets because of assaults by members of the public impacts on the level of service we can provide to the communities we serve and protect.

“Such absences not only have a detrimental effect on the resourcing of incidents, they increase pressures on other officers too, due to the additional responsibilities they have to take on to ensure that we meet the needs of the public.

“Assaults also often cause distress to family members, particularly when the officer suffers psychological or visible physical injuries.”

David Keane, Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire, said: “I support tough sentences for the crime of attacking an officer.

“Such attacks are despicable, now more than ever.

“This year officers have been risking their own safety, and that of their families, as they work on the frontline during the coronavirus pandemic.

“This is an unprecedented time when, thankfully, most members of our communities have been pulling together and supporting our frontline workers.

“Sadly, there still remains a small minority of people who disrespect the police and even think that it is acceptable to assault officers.

“Such assaults are completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated by Cheshire Constabulary or the courts.”