King's Lynn man restrained after attacking two police officers, court told

Police who moved to arrest a man in a North Lynn home were met with an extraordinary amount of violence and aggression.

One officer was headbutted and another punched on the arm by Rhian Winters who was in drink and had been waving a piece of wood about in St Edmundsbury Road.

It was a level of aggression rarely experienced in nearly 20 years’ service by one of the officers, magistrates in Lynn were told on Thursday.

The court heard the incident happened at about 4.30pm on April 11.

Winters was holding something when officers approached him in the house. He was told to drop it and a female officer was punched on the forearm as she went to handcuff him.

Prosecutor Katherine Emms told the court Winters was swearing and shouting: “Tell her not to touch me. Do you understand who I am?”

Winters then warned a sergeant that he would be headbutted if he came closer. And that happened as the sergeant tried to take control of the situation before Winters kept his arms behind his back on a bed.

Eventually the 26-year-old was arrested and had leg straps applied.

Winters, of St Edmundsbury Road, had pleaded guilty on Wednesday to two counts of assaulting an emergency worker, resisting a police officer and a public order offence.

He has a record of previous assaults on police officers and the latest offences were committed while he was on a community order.

Alison Muir, mitigating, described it as a setback because Winters had showed a “high level of compliance” with probation officers, and a detective involved with the 180 Degree scheme which works with offenders had seen a “remarkable” improvement.

“It’s hard to believe given what you’ve heard today,” Miss Muir told the bench.

Winters was given a fresh 12-month community order with the maximum 120 days of an Alcohol Abstinence Monitoring Requirement and up to 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

He was also ordered to pay £100 each in compensation to the two assaulted officers.