Small boat migrant avoids jail after punching female police officers
A small boat migrant who repeatedly punched two female police officers has been spared jail.
Tariku Hadgu, 21, was told by a judge his brain 'is not fully formed' and he would be imprisoned if he committed another offence.
The Ethiopian asylum seeker had to be dragged off one of his victims by a member of the public as he punched her outside a bar in Bournemouth, Dorset.
One of them had fallen to the ground after being hit, allowing him to climb on top of her as he continued his assault.
Hadgu, who arrived in the UK three years ago on a small boat, was given a 16-week prison sentence suspended for one year at Poole magistrates' court.
Addressing him, the district judge Michael Snow said: 'This is more serious than your standard assault as it was on two officers.
'The Home Office needs to know about this because it is extremely relevant information as to whether he should be allowed to stay in the country.
'You're a young man of 20 and your brain is not fully formed. If you commit another criminal offence, you will be going to prison for 16 weeks.'
The court heard the incident took place on April 18 in central Bournemouth after reports of a man carrying a knife matched descriptions of Hadgu and his friend.
Charles Nightingale, the prosecutor, said: 'The two officers who were assaulted by the defendant say they approached the two males to arrest them.
'Both officers describe being punched in the face, and one was punched repeatedly in the abdomen by the defendant who was on top of her.'
The court heard one officer was left with bruises on her face and cheekbones, and feared one of the men could brandish a knife at any moment. However, no knife was found.
Mr Nightingale said Hagdu was 'very drunk' and was also found in possession of a small amount of cannabis, it was heard.
Hadgu – who claims to have no memory of the incident – lives in a shared house in the town with three other asylum seekers and has been learning English at a college.
In mitigation, Niall Theobald said Hagdu was 'extremely remorseful for his behaviour'.
Hagdu was also given a 12-week curfew and banned from all bars, pubs and clubs in Dorset for one year.
He was also ordered to pay £250 compensation to each officer, paid out of the £67.50 a week he receives as a basic living allowance.
James Dimmack, chairman of the Dorset Police Federation, said: 'It is never acceptable to attack and assault police officers. That message must be universal.
'Police officers are not punchbags. We are mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, husbands, wives and partners. We should be going home at the end of our shifts, not to hospital.
'An effective deterrent must be in place to better protect the protectors. In this case I am hugely reticent to say that the punishment fits the crime.'
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