Policeman jailed for injuring motorist

A police sergeant was jailed for four months for slightly injuring a French woman outside the Bay Street complex in St Julians two months ago.

On handing down judgment, Magistrate Silvio Meli noted that, although the 46-year-old sergeant - David Sant - regretted his behaviour, it was his duty as a police officer to ensure public order and not to stifle it.

In a marathon five-hour sitting, the magistrate yesterday heard all the evidence in the case. PS Sant pleaded not guilty to injuring 56-year-old Catherine Sophie Pernot Sprangers and committing a crime he was in duty bound to prevent in St Julians on May 10.

The accused was suspended from the Police Force.

Ms Sprangers testified with the help of an interpreter after being cautioned that the police could take legal action against her.

When she took the stand, the magistrate asked her to face him and not the interpreter when she spoke. She initially refused to do so, adding she had to face the person she was speaking to.

After being warned that her behaviour could lead to arrest, she noted she was not the accused.

She then recounted that on May 10 she was stuck in traffic and was hooting, as other drivers did, when PC Sant went up to her car window.

They were both annoyed at the fact that they could not understand one another. She was about to light a cigarette when he grabbed the packet and she tried to take it back from him.

Some time later the officer kicked her in the chest and she lost consciousness as a result of the "violence of the shock" caused by the kick, she testified.

When she regained consciousness, she said she recalled a police constable speaking to her kindly but did not understand him. She then drove off because the only thing she wanted to do was leave the scene and distance herself from the police presence.

She drove to a meeting and, as time passed, she felt a pain in her chest, which pain was becoming stronger. By the time she got to the meeting she was in so much pain she had to be taken home.

The following day she summoned her doctor.

The woman explained that after the incident she and a friend went to the police station to file a report on three separate occasions. But each time they were told that the person responsible was not there. After the third time she gave up.

The witness initially refused to answer questions by the defence. When cautioned again by the magistrate she accepted to reply and denied scratching the officer.

Her doctor, John Gauci, said she suffered from a contusion to the chest that consisted of tenderness and bruising.

Adrian Vassallo, a medical doctor, explained that he had examined PS Sant who had three scratch marks on his arms, two of which where deep, and a contusion on his back.

The accused said that on May 10 he was informed that a trailer had collided against the Bay Street bridge and he went there with two police constables.

Once the collision was seen to, he realised that a coach was still blocking the road because the driver was worried that the wheels could get stuck in freshly-laid tarmac. As there was a line of traffic behind the coach, the officer decided it was best to get the cars to reverse up the road so the coach could then manoeuvre its way out. Ms Sprangers, however, refused to reverse and kept honking her horn repeatedly.

He realised there was a lack of communication and so he went up to her car and put his hand in to stop her from hooting. That was when she scratched his arm.

The officer testified that he then went back to tend to the traffic and, after personally checking whether the tarmac was dry, the coach drove on. In the meantime, he decided to arrest Ms Sprangers for failing to follow his orders and contacted a woman constable who was on her way.

Once the coach left, he had to ensure Ms Sprangers did not leave the area until the female constable arrived on the scene.

He thus opened the door of her car and she became "hysterical". As he was carrying a mobile phone in one hand and a clip-board in the other, she grabbed his arm and tried to close the car door.

"I was hit by her several times and, without wanting to, I raised my arm and knee simultaneously. I pushed her with my hand but also hit her with my knee... I did it to defend myself...

"She fell onto the seat and I called an ambulance. When the ambulance arrived she refused medical assistance," PS Sant said.

Eventually, Ms Sprangers was persuaded to move her car to the side of the road to allow the traffic to flow. Soon after, she drove off leaving the sergeant with just a foreign number plate that was difficult to trace.

He went to the police station and compiled a report about what had happened. He also got his injuries certified by a medical practitioner.

The officer went on to explain that four days earlier, on May 7, he had been called to help restrain a woman who was trying to commit suicide. As he tried to restrain her, she scratched him on the hand. He later learnt she suffered from hepatitis C positive.

He had medical tests to check if he had contracted the disease and, although initial results showed he was clean, he had to undergo more tests within six months.

Therefore, during the incident outside Bay Street he was worried when he was scratched by another woman, just days from the suicide attempt.

To make matters worse, he said, he had recently undergone bypass surgery, had stopped smoking and was more nervous than usual.

He explained that photos and a film of the incident published by the media covered only a few minutes of an episode that lasted between 20 and 30 minutes. Although there was no denying the content of the footage, he said there were essential details missing.

"I'm not contesting that I hit her... That day I went there to help with the aim of opening the road to traffic. I never dreamt or intended to hurt anyone.

"I've been in the force for 20 years and never wanted to taint the reputation of the police force. I'm very sorry about what happened," PS Sant said.

After hearing the evidence and the legal submissions, the magistrate noted that during the incident PS Sant was under physical and mental strain and his superiors should have taken this into consideration before assigning him to certain jobs. He also noted that after 20 years in the force, including 12 years serving with the Special Assignment Group, the officer was trained to act in such circumstances and, therefore, it was not right to say he reacted to provocation.

While acknowledging that PS Sant was sorry for his actions the magistrate noted that, as a police officer, it was the duty of the accused to ensure public order and not to stifle it. He thus jailed him for four months.

PS Sant informed the court he intended to appeal the judgment.

Police Inspectors Martin Sammut and Simon Galea prosecuted.

Lawyers Jason Azzopardi and Kris Busietta were defence counsel.