Man jailed for violent assault on police officer

A man who subjected a police officer to a violent attack has been jailed just two days after the incident.

Connaire Parsons, of Ystradgynlais, assaulted a Dyfed-Powys Police dog handler in a lane in Ystradgynlais while attempts were being made to arrest him for a separate offence.

The officer had responded to a call at around 9.30pm on Sunday, March 28 reporting a group of men kicking her front door and making threats.

One of the suspects was quickly located and arrested on suspicion using violence to gain entry to a premises, possession of class a drugs, harassment and threats to commit criminal damage. He was taken to custody and released on bail.

A second suspect – 23,-year-old Parsons – was found by a dog handler shortly after in a lane close to the river. He was arrested and launched a physical attack on the PC, punching him several times in the face, wrestling with him on the ground and making attempts to bite him.

Detective Sergeant Christine Beaton said: “This was an unprovoked attack by a prolific and violent offender on an officer who was trying to do his job.

“The officer involved suffered significant pain to his face and jaw, and injured his shoulder and hip. It is fortunate that none of the injuries sustained were more serious, but that does not detract from the appalling violence he was subjected to.”

Additional officers who were close by attended to assist the PC, who remained on duty but visited hospital to have his injuries assessed.

Parsons was restrained and taken to police custody, where he was charged with assault by beating of an emergency worker.

He appeared at Merthyr Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, March 30, where he pleaded guilty to the offence and was sentenced to six months in prison.

“Parsons had been released from prison in 2020 following a conviction for aggravated vehicle taking and dangerous driving, and had not been seen in the area recently,” DS Beaton said.

“No emergency worker should face violence of this kind while on duty, and we hope this result sends a message to the defendant that his antisocial and criminal behaviour will not be tolerated.

“My thanks go to all officers who were involved in the investigation and who contributed to getting such a quick result for this serious offence, and also to the officer who was assaulted for his commitment to service by staying on duty.”