ISSUE 10/17
14 March 2017
www.tpav.org.au
Police Association denounces light sentences
Earlier today two hardened career criminals were each sentenced to four
years imprisonment for shooting at two police officers at close range on 7 July
2015.
Together with other offences committed, both criminals received a total
maximum sentence of a little more than eight years, but could walk free in six.
One of the victims, Constable Ben Ashmole is luck to be alive, having literally
been millimetres away from being killed. Ben was shot in the back of the head
at close range. He still has 11 gunshot pallets lodged in his head.
Ben’s partner during this fateful shift, Senior Constable Tom Wospil, is also
lucky to have escaped serious injury.
Today’s sentencing confirms what we and the community have suspected for
a long time – that our justice system is failing when someone can shoot at a
police officer in the back of the head and receive such a pitifully light
sentence.
These are crimes not just committed against two police officers. They are
callous crimes committed against the fabric of our society.
Today’s outcome needs to be called out for what it is – a manifestly
inadequate sentence and an indictment on our system of justice.
Such a woeful sentence disrespects many in our community who deserve so
much more:
It disrespects Ben and Tom – two fine, hardworking police officers who are
both scarred for life - be it physically and/or psychologically.
It also disrespects all of our 15,000 members, who would be quite justified in
being disillusioned and frustrated by today’s outcome.
1
But above all, this inadequate sentence disrespects all Victorians as these
crimes were not just committed against two police officers, but against the
entire community.
It is little wonder we are seeing such flagrant disrespect for our law on a daily
basis. The crooks are winning. It’s high time this changed.
Indeed, such crimes against police are not isolated. There have been five
incidents in which police have been shot at in the past two years.
These include two separate incidents that have occurred in the past fortnight,
where a total of six police officers were shot at.
Out of respect for our members and the law-abiding community they serve,
The Police Association is determined to get to the bottom of these flaws in
our system and have them fixed.
Clearly, more needs to be done to ensure that the crooks stop winning and
that community safety is, once again, made front and centre.
Wayne Gatt
Secretary
2