Raina Cruise launched her alcohol-fuelled attack on Senior Constable Anthea Beck in 2021.Â
Captured on police bodycam, Beck was kicked, punched, and had clumps of hair and scalp forcibly removed by Cruise during the Rundle Street incident.
“(It was a) violent, cowardly attack on a police officer, leaving that police officer with significant injuries and probably life-long scarring,” Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said.
In December, Cruise was able to walk free from court when she was controversially handed a suspended sentence.
Her sentence triggered outrage from Stevens, prompting an appeal that was upheld yesterday, with the 42-year-old mother-of-three now behind bars for three years and nine months.
I’m very pleased that the system has corrected a significant anomaly,” Stevens said.
“A degree of leniency is appropriate based on the nature of the assault and other prevailing conditions, but in this case what we saw was an incredibly violent attack,” he added.
There’s hope the new sentence will set a new benchmark for how the justice system deals with serious assaults not just against police but all emergency workers in the future.
“It’s exactly what was required to send a message not just to Raina Cruise but to anyone else who thinks it’s okay to assault a police officer or emergency services worker,” Stevens said.
