A MAGISTRATE has warned locals he will not tolerate attacks on police who are doing their job.
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Magistrate Michael Holmes says he has a zero-tolerance approach to assaults, attacks, threats and intimidation of officers on the thin blue line.
Two Tamworth men copped his wrath after they unleashed on police on separate occasions in Tamworth, including one man who threatened to shoot officers.
“Police shootings are a very sensitive issue in this town,” Mr Holmes told Nicholas Wayne McKenzie in sentencing in Tamworth Local Court.
“A very fine officer lost his life in the course of his duty.
“Your behaviour is totally unacceptable ... even more so unacceptable in this town.”
McKenzie, 26, unleashed a tirade of abuse on February 18 when officers went to his West Tamworth home in relation to a private matter.
The court heard McKenzie became agitated at requests and told officers to “get f*****”, calling them “f****** parasites”, “four-eyed” and “fat”, before telling them, “lucky I don’t have a gun or I’d take you all out”.
He retreated from police inside the home before they moved in and he was arrested and charged with three counts of intimidating police.
Solicitor Fiona Hadlington said McKenzie, who pleaded guilty to all three counts, now had an insight to his offending and had written apology letters to the police.
“Police officers don’t deserve to be spoken to in the way they were,” she said.
Similar sentiments were dished out in court for Lindsay Boreham, who attacked officers late on June 30.
About 10.30pm, Boreham punched a police officer in the left shoulder when they were trying to identify him after an alarm was raised at a business in Bridge St.
Boreham, who was extremely intoxicated, then grabbed the officer’s torch before he attempted to strike him, yelling “let’s go then”.
He thrashed at officers who tried to arrest him and continually resisted the officer’s requests before he was handcuffed.
He pleaded guilty in court to resisting an officer and assaulting police.
“This court takes particular offence to police being assaulted,” Mr Holmes said in sentencing.
“Police have a very difficult job, police should be protected they are protecting the community.”
Solicitor Greg Birtles said his client had tendered an apology letter to police, and was “extremely embarrassed”.
He said the 22-year-old had “very little recollection of the events” after he took an ecstasy tablet which was “a major mistake in his life”.
“He’s a complete fool,” he added.
“It’s like Russian roulette,” Mr Holmes said of taking drugs, pointing to the fact users never know what’s in it.
McKenzie was fined $1500 and placed on a supervised good behaviour bond for two years, while Boreham was slapped with a $2000 fine and placed on the same lengthy bond.
