news, crime, Andrew Smith
A police officer injured when she tried to subdue a “hostile” serial criminal says she’s been reliant on colleagues to help her with simple tasks, like washing her hair, since the incident. ACT Policing Detective Sergeant Elizabeth Swain read out a victim impact statement in the Magistrates Court on Monday. She said she first met 49-year-old Andrew Ross Smith outside court in June of last year and the pair had a polite exchange. She said it was only by unfortunate coincidence she ran into him days later, on June 30, while she was on shift managing the Canberra city watch house. At the time, Smith had been on a two-day crime spree; hitting a man with a shovel on June 28, before he drove drunk, smashed into a stationary car and kept on driving. He was arrested and later granted bail but, on June 30, was picked up by police officers again. He’d swung a 90-centimetre axe in front of a man and used the same weapon to drunkenly smash up another man’s Toyota Hilux. When Smith got to the watch house on the evening of June 30, agreed facts said he became verbally aggressive towards Detective Sergeant Swain, repeatedly asking her: “Do you wanna be a c—?” It took several police officers to restrain Smith and, in the process, Detective Sergeant Swain said the bone in one of her fingers snapped, almost in half. The police officer said Smith “let us know that he intended to make our jobs difficult” and deliberately defecated in his pants, which was “as disgusting as it sounds”. “I know that Mr Smith did not attack Elizabeth … he attacked the uniform despite never having any negative interactions with me and this is unacceptable,” Detective Sergeant Swain said. The police officer said her hand had been “dysfunctional” since the incident, and she’d been unable to perform her normal duties after 29 years of service. She said she’d had to ask her colleagues “to do up my … belt and sort my hair out”, and come around to help her wash her hair. “I’ve jokingly called my … colleagues my carers, but the truth is they are,” Detective Sergeant Swain said. The police officer said she hoped her hand would improve significantly and she’d be able to return to normal duties next year, but she wanted Smith to be held accountable for his actions. Smith’s lawyer Priyanka Koci pushed for the 49-year-old to be assessed for a intensive correction order, given he’d already spent 163 days in jail on remand. An intensive correction order is a prison sentence served in the community rather than behind bars. Ms Koci said Smith had been in “self-destruct mode” at the time of the offending after a falling out with his family, but prosecutor James Melloy pointed out Smith had “a lengthy episode”. “The offender has shown a complete disregard for, one, authority … and, secondly, disregard for members of the community,” Mr Melloy said. Magistrate Glenn Theakston said he would sentence Smith for eight charges, all garnered from the crimes committed in June, about midday on Tuesday. The charges include three counts of resisting a public territory official. The magistrate indicated Smith would have to serve further time in prison.
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A police officer injured when she tried to subdue a “hostile” serial criminal says she’s been reliant on colleagues to help her with simple tasks, like washing her hair, since the incident.
ACT Policing Detective Sergeant Elizabeth Swain read out a victim impact statement in the Magistrates Court on Monday.
She said she first met 49-year-old Andrew Ross Smith outside court in June of last year and the pair had a polite exchange. She said it was only by unfortunate coincidence she ran into him days later, on June 30, while she was on shift managing the Canberra city watch house.
At the time, Smith had been on a two-day crime spree; hitting a man with a shovel on June 28, before he drove drunk, smashed into a stationary car and kept on driving.
He was arrested and later granted bail but, on June 30, was picked up by police officers again. He’d swung a 90-centimetre axe in front of a man and used the same weapon to drunkenly smash up another man’s Toyota Hilux.
When Smith got to the watch house on the evening of June 30, agreed facts said he became verbally aggressive towards Detective Sergeant Swain, repeatedly asking her: “Do you wanna be a c—?”
It took several police officers to restrain Smith and, in the process, Detective Sergeant Swain said the bone in one of her fingers snapped, almost in half.
The police officer said Smith “let us know that he intended to make our jobs difficult” and deliberately defecated in his pants, which was “as disgusting as it sounds”.
“I know that Mr Smith did not attack Elizabeth … he attacked the uniform despite never having any negative interactions with me and this is unacceptable,” Detective Sergeant Swain said.
The police officer said her hand had been “dysfunctional” since the incident, and she’d been unable to perform her normal duties after 29 years of service.
She said she’d had to ask her colleagues “to do up my … belt and sort my hair out”, and come around to help her wash her hair.
“I’ve jokingly called my … colleagues my carers, but the truth is they are,” Detective Sergeant Swain said.
The police officer said she hoped her hand would improve significantly and she’d be able to return to normal duties next year, but she wanted Smith to be held accountable for his actions.
Smith’s lawyer Priyanka Koci pushed for the 49-year-old to be assessed for a intensive correction order, given he’d already spent 163 days in jail on remand.
An intensive correction order is a prison sentence served in the community rather than behind bars.
Ms Koci said Smith had been in “self-destruct mode” at the time of the offending after a falling out with his family, but prosecutor James Melloy pointed out Smith had “a lengthy episode”.
“The offender has shown a complete disregard for, one, authority … and, secondly, disregard for members of the community,” Mr Melloy said.
Magistrate Glenn Theakston said he would sentence Smith for eight charges, all garnered from the crimes committed in June, about midday on Tuesday.
The charges include three counts of resisting a public territory official.
The magistrate indicated Smith would have to serve further time in prison.
