Beauty therapist, 35, dodges jail after attacking FIVE police officers, treating them like 'punch bags' and spitting at them, court hears
A beauty therapist has avoided jail after she assaulted five officers, spat at them and even hit one with a 'donkey kick'.
Lucy Theunissen, 35, treated police officers like 'punch bags' in a shocking sustained attack after she caused a blazing row at a Chinese takeaway in Basingstoke, Hants last year.
The mother-of-three walked free from Winchester Crown Court after Judge Rufus Taylor who stopped short of imposing a custodial sentence because of her disabilities.
The sentencing provoked outrage from Hampshire Police Federation, which represents the rank-and-file and criticised the decision not to jail Theunissen.
The court heard Theunissen, a qualified masseuse and beautician, first attacked constables at a Chinese takeaway when 999 was called on her because she was drunkenly abusing customers.
Then, in front of her six-year-old child and his friend, she swore and shouted before launching assault on officers by kicking out and trying to bite them while resisting arrest.
When back-up arrived at Woo's Chinese Takeaway, the mother-of-three kicked another officer's shin.
The assault continued in the back of a police van as she spat at the driver, only for it to land on the protective glass.
At the police station, Theunissen 'donkey kicked' a police officer in the torso, the court heard. She then she smacked one officer in the head when they tried to remove her mobile phone in a custody cell.
After initially denying the charges, the beautician eventually pleaded guilty to assaulting an emergency worker and criminal damage.
The defendant, who sobbed in court as the charges were read out, was sentenced to a two-year community order, with 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days for the incident which happened on the evening of April 11, 2024.
She must also pay £100 compensation to each of the five officers involved as well as a victim surcharge and a 60-day curfew.
Theunissen has three sons, aged 15, 14 and seven, who were not present in court.
An impact statement read out on behalf of PC James Pawley said: 'I come to work to serve the community and I wish to do it without fearing assault.
'For too long police have been treated as punching bags for people to take their anger out on.
'The mental anger of this sort of incident will undoubtedly stay with me and I do not enjoy telling my loved ones that I have been assaulted at work.
'I am angry that she felt the necessity to assault me. What she did was not ok and will never be ok.'
Justin Johnson, defending, said: 'Miss Theunissen has expressed remorse for what happened. She has apologised to one of the officers and said she is willing to apologise to the others for what happened.
'It was an overreaction from a previous negative experience with the police.
'She had recently suffered the bereavement of her grandmother, one of the few relatives she was in contact with after she left home aged 16.
'I accept that this passes the custodial threshold but I believe it could be suspended due to her low risk to the public.'
Judge Rufus Taylor concluded: 'You lashed out, donkey kicked and spat at these officers. It is a pretty bad episode.
'There is a high level of culpability here as it is an instance of multiple prolonged assaults.
'The whole situation is aggravated by the fact it was in front of your son and his friend.
'This case really warrants a custodial sentence but I will step back from that because of your problems.'
Upon hearing of the result Spencer Wragg, Chair of the Hampshire Police Federation, said: 'No police officer should come to work expecting to be assaulted.
'No family should expect their loved one to come home with injuries sustained at work as part of the job.
'Being spat at is vile, being struck and kicked whilst answering a call from the public simply isn't acceptable.
'It's not always just the physical injury that affects officers and the psychological impact of incidents can take a lot longer to recover from.
'I am concerned about the message that this sentence gives to officers who are out policing the streets of Hampshire and Isle of Wight today.'
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