Midwest police are calling for calm after multiple alleged attacks on officers in the past week.
Key points:
- A hotel owner says violence affects all businesses, not just the venue in question
- Several people have been charged over alleged offenses against police
- Police say the behavior is all too common
Geraldton Officer in Charge Senior Sergeant Chris Martin said he was alarmed by the incidents.
“It really concerns me that my officers are going to jobs in Geraldton and people are [allegedly] actively looking to assault them — that’s very concerning,” he said.
“We have seen a steady increase in assaults over police in the last 12 to 24 months.”
The WA Police Union says assaults on Midwest-Gascoyne officers have risen more than 55 per cent in the last year.
Late night pub brawl
A 24-year-old woman appeared in the Geraldton Magistrates court on Wednesday charged with two counts of assaulting a public officer and one count of obstructing public officers.
The charges followed a ticketed event at the Wintersun Hotel on Friday night, which about 250 people attended.
Senior Sergeant Martin said when the event finished a crowd spilled into the car park and police received a disturbance call.
“When we attended there was about 100 people present, fighting in all kinds of different groups and police were required to take some evasive action,” he said.
“Some of our officers were kicked, punched, pushed, spat on.
“That behavior is not uncommon, unfortunately, in Geraldton.”
Senior Sergeant Martin said one police officer was struck to the neck with a bottle.
The officers were taken to Geraldton Health Campus for a medical assessment.
He said three other people had been charged over the brawl.
‘pretty dislike’
On a separate occasion this week Geraldton police were called to an alleged domestic violence incident in Karloo.
Senior Sergeant Martin said an attending officer was allegedly spat on.
“Being spat on is pretty disgusting,” he said.
There was also an incident in Rangeway, where a person allegedly bit an officer on the finger.
“We deal with a lot of violent people, we deal with a lot of dynamic situations,” Senior Sergeant Martin said.
“I’ll be the first to say we don’t always get it right, but police officers come to work to do their jobs and keep the community safe.”
‘Ruining a lot of businesses’
Freemasons Hotel co-owner Kristina Drage said she had noticed an increase in tension in the community after a fight unfolded out the front of her pub while a guest speaker was entertaining an audience inside.
“Unfortunately, some people who had been evicted from the premise earlier in the evening decided they wanted to have a fight with some people enjoying themselves in the alfresco area,” she said.
“When people come and behave like that it is really embarrassing for the town, the people, or the talent who are visiting.”
Ms Drage said a lot of money and effort went into hosting events, which other businesses also benefited from.
But ongoing behavior is acting as a deterrent for event organizers.
“By people carrying on like this are ruining a lot of businesses, not just ours,” she said.
“If we had a better infrastructure of public transport and taxis, it certainly would solve a lot of after-hours problems when establishments close.”
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