A POLICE officer violently assaulted by a man on a drunken night out in Bournemouth was so badly injured she has been unable to return to work.

PC Karen Brown has been unable to carry out her duties since she was attacked by Kevin Atkins last year.

The 24-year-old, who was visiting Bournemouth from his home in Cricket Road, Oxford, grabbed PC Brown's knee and twisted it as she attempted to arrest him.

The assault caused a muscle tear which has forced the officer to work light duties while she tries to recover.

Yet Atkins - who was unable to look the officer in the eye when he appeared before magistrates - was sentenced to just 80 hours' community service and costs of £1,000, despite pleading not guilty to a charge of assaulting a PC in the execution of her duty.

PC Brown, a uniformed response officer based in Bournemouth Police Station, said: “He will have to pay me compensation costs of £500.

“But the amount is irrelevant - I just want to get back to my job. It has been very difficult to be away from work.”

The officer was on foot patrol in Bournemouth town centre when she was hurt.

She said: “We were called to a fight involving two women, and as a result of that incident a female was arrested.

“As we were making that arrest, Atkins started to interfere, and we asked him to step away a number of times. But he kept on approaching the arresting officers and it became necessary to arrest him as well.”

But as handcuffs were placed on his wrist, Atkins violently resisted, grabbing PC Brown's knee.

She said: “He grabbed my knee and twisted it.

“It was like a rugby hold. I heard something pop.”

PC Brown - who has been in the force for 15 years, joining when she was just 18 - initially believed she had suffered a pulled muscle, and continued with her duties.

But the injury became unbearably painful, and doctors discovered she had sustained significant damage to her leg.

She said: “The physiotherapy really hurts, and I still can't run.

“As part of my job, I need to trust that I can climb a fence, land the other side and run when I need to. This has taken that away from me."

Under Crown Prosecution Service guidelines, Atkins could have served up to six months behind bars for the offence.

Police Federation head slams sentence as "outrageous"

THE sentence handed down to Atkins has been condemned as “outrageous” by the chairman of Dorset Police Federation.


Tony Tester said police officers are there to protect the public and that assaults should be treated seriously.


“His sentence is very lenient,” he said. “We are public servants and we are out there putting our lives on the line on a daily basis.


“If someone chooses to assault a police officer in the execution of their duty, the sentence should reflect the gravity of the offence - it is just not right.”


Mr Tester said he sympathises with officers who have been victims of assault and said they are seriously affected.


“It is not just the physical injury which affects them but some suffer from post traumatic stress because at some point they have to go back out there and perform that role again.”


Latest figures reveal that assaults on Dorset Police officers increased from 61 in 2012-13 to 78 the following year.