Model jailed for more than three years after filming attack on police officers and posting footage on Facebook

Tim Baker19 December 2019
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

A model who posted footage of himself beating up two police officers on Facebook has been jailed for more than three years.

Martin Williams, 28, kicked one officer in the face before punching another in the head, causing serious facial injuries.

He was sentenced today at Bristol Crown Court after admitting wounding with intent, assaulting an emergency worker and criminal damage.

Last year, the law was tightened to make sure people who attacked emergency service workers received tougher sentences.

Prosecuting, James Haskell told the court Williams was “immediately angry and abusive” towards Police constable Matthew Williams, who was on duty with colleague Police constable Andrew Gilbert.

Avon and Somerset Constabulary/PA Wire

Officers had stopped his car in the Knowle area of Bristol, finding he had a three-year-old who was not in a child car seat sat in the back.

“All of this happened in front of the child, who was clearly distressed by what was going on,” Mr Haskell said.

Pc Gilbert attempted to handcuff Williams’ cousin Scott Collins, who had been in the front passenger seat.

Mr Collins left the car and Pc Gilbert twice deployed his Taser and arrested him.

As this was happening, Williams kicked Pc Williams “hard in the face” and ran from the driver’s side of the car.

He then ran towards Pc Gilbert, who was holding handcuffs in one hand and a Taser in the other, and punched him in the face.

Pc Gilbert described feeling a “solid bang straight into his face”, with Williams punching him while holding his mobile phone.

The officer was taken to hospital, where he received 14 stitches for a deep laceration to his upper lip.

Williams was arrested the following day and later posted footage from his mobile phone on to Facebook.

One comment posted underneath the footage – not by the defendant – referred to people following Pc Williams home to see if his family “likes being terrorised”.

The defendant later pleaded guilty to charges of wounding with intent, assaulting an emergency worker and criminal damage relating to breaking Pc Williams’ glasses.

In a victim impact statement, Pc Gilbert said his speech had been affected and he had only been able to eat liquid food after the incident due to the swelling.

“I had my hands full and Martin Williams hit me with a cheap shot when I was unable to defend myself,” Pc Gilbert said.

Pc Williams described the guilt he felt at his colleague being assaulted while they were on duty together.

Andy Marsh, the chief constable of Avon and Somerset Police, also submitted a statement to the court to highlight the impact of the “growing trend” of members of the public assaulting officers and staff.

From January to October this year, the force recorded a total of 1,090 assaults on officers, detention officers and police community support officers – an average of 109 per month.

“It is no longer a rare and exceptional occurrence, rather an everyday occurrence,” he said.

Representing Williams, Sam Jones said his client committed the offences out of concern for his cousin, who had recently suffered a stroke.

He said Williams had been affected by the recent deaths of his sister and father and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Mr Jones described Williams as a family man who “has a promising career as a model and as an actor”.

Judge William Hart sentenced Williams to three years and 19 weeks in prison.

The judge referred to the chief constable’s statement to the court, which he said raised “proper and laudable concerns for the welfare and safety of his officers”.

“These officers are the people to whom we all look for our own safety and security,” the judge said.

As he was taken to the cells, Williams swore and made an obscene gesture at police sitting in the public gallery.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in