A French woman who had been kneed by a policeman after scratching him was yesterday charged with hitting a policeman over the head with her camera.
The magistrate even authorised the police to enter her house to arrest her if need be
Catherine Sophie Pernot Sprangers, 57, allegedly assaulted the police constable on Wednesday when he went to her Swieqi home to arrest her after she failed to appear in court on four consecutive sittings.
Magistrate Francesco Depasquale ordered her arrest in a case in which she is charged with breaching the peace and swearing in public and at her neighbours. The magistrate even authorised the police to enter her house to arrest her if need be.
She pleaded guilty yesterday and was fined €100 and ordered not to bother her neighbours, who have since forgiven her.
When the woman appeared before Magistrate Audrey Demicoli, the prosecution alleged that, on approaching the woman, the constable was hit with a photo camera.
Ms Pernot Sprangers who is pleading not guilty to slightly injuring the policeman and violently resisting arrest, was granted bail against a personal guarantee of €2,000.
In 2007, Ms Pernot Sprangers was kneed by a police officer in an incident that was caught on camera and uploaded on You Tube. Police Sergeant David Sant was eventually arraigned and was sentenced to four months in prison after being found guilty of slightly injuring the woman.
The jail term was suspended for a year on appeal after a judge took into consideration the officer’s “impeccable” service to the country, which spanned 20 years.
In the video, PS Sant could be seen manhandling her as she sat in her small blue car. He then hit her in the chest with the knee after which she collapsed onto the passenger seat. The footage missed the part where the woman scratched the officer on the arm before he attacked her, a fact that emerged in court.
The officer had been suspended but eventually returned to duty after the authorities took into consideration, among other things, a letter by the woman herself who pointed out that she had become friends with the police sergeant since the incident.
She said she was convinced the assault was a fluke that did not reflect the officer’s nature.