A carer who violently battered a policewoman in a booze-fuelled rampage has walked free from court – and banned from every bar in Britain.
Rachael Hartman, 39, had downed two bottles of wine when she threw WPC Debbie Chamberlain to the floor before smashing her head on the pavement.
The brutal attack only ended when the officer deployed CS spray.
WPC Chamberlain was taken to hospital with a nose bleed, bruises to both cheeks and scratches to her face and mouth.
She also had lumps on her head, a sprained ankle and had lost clumps of hair.
Hartman pleaded guilty to three counts of assault and was given an eight month prison sentence, suspended for two years with a 12 month supervision order.
She was also banned from entering any pub, nightclub or licensed premises for a year and ordered her to pay WPC Chamberlain #500 compensation.
Sentencing at Bristol Crown Court, Judge Mark Horton told the mum-of-two her behaviour was “appalling”.
He said: “Police officers in our society are to be protected by the courts because they defend the rule of law in this country and protect the public.
“Those who do deliberately assault officers can expect to receive an immediate custodial sentence.
“Your behaviour that night was as appalling as it was irrational. It was a sustained assault on a police officer.”
Bristol Crown Court heard how officers had attended Shooters bar, in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, after Hartman and her male friend were involved in an alleged altercation on December 26 last year.
Hartman, who had been banned from the pub, poured a drink over a barman before slapping the assistant manager.
Nadeem Aullybocus, prosecuting, told the court Hartman had been to Shooters at around 6pm and had abused and then thrown a drink over barman Steve Jackson.
When assistant manager Adam McNally approached her to say she was barred and must leave Hartman slapped him so hard it caused him to “turn 180 degrees”.
Mr Aullybocus said police attended the scene and when they tried to arrest her friend she had “lost it”.
“She launched a sustained violent attack on the police officer,” Mr Aullybocus said.
“She strikes out at the officer whilst she is trying to hold onto her and pulls on the officer’s hair so hard she goes to the floor.
“She then carries on and hits the officer’s head against the floor.
“The defendant had to be calmed down to the extent that the officer had to deploy two sprays of CS gas to her head and chest area.”
Hartman, a support worker at the Brandon Trust which supports people with learning difficulties, pleaded guilty to two counts of assault of staff at Shooters and one of assault with intent to resist arrest at North Avon Magistrates Court in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, last month.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, WPC Chamberlain said: “This attack is by far the worst I’ve been subjected to.
“The accident has left me more wary when dealing with confrontational situations.
“I count myself lucky I walked away with just the injuries I received especially as the back of my head was hit on the pavement.
“The incident happened around Christmas and I was unable to run around with my children and have quality family time. I was instead nursing a very sore head and limping around.”
Bristol Crown Court heard how Hartman, of Nailsea, Somerset, acted as a shift leader at an intense residential unit where she was a key carer for people with behavioural difficulties.
Virginia Cornwall, defending, told the court: “She is before the court as a woman filled with shame and embarrassment.
“Her remorse is total and she accepts her behaviour was entirely inappropriate.
“It would appear that she is somebody who does not cope well with life’s difficulties. She suffers with depression and has been on medication since her teens.”
The Brandon Trust launched an internal investigation and Hartman was placed on gardening leave but the case was closed and she had been allowed to return.
But now the charity say they have suspended her once more pending a further investigation into her suitability for the job.
A statement from the Trust read: “Brandon Trust confirm that following the outcome of the trial of Rachael Hartman she is suspended from employment with immediate effect pending an assessment of her suitability to continue working within the Care Sector.
“This will remain our position until such an outcome is reached; we have no further comment to make at the present time.”
