THE police officer who had a handgun put to her head — unaware it was a replica when a teenage girl pulled the trigger — shared her harrowing experience in a statement read to the Island youth court.
PC Kerri Trickey suffered a facial injury when the 14 year-old struck her with the fake weapon in Newport.
Her victim impact statement was read by Liz Miller, prosecuting, at the Isle of Wight Youth Court on Wednesday.
She said: “The pain lasted over a week. I had to have the cut above my left eye glued together.
“In terms of the incident, I was in total shock. Although the injury has now healed, I had blood pouring from my eye."
PC Trickey said: "When I was assaulted, it was really terrifying. There was so much blood and I couldn’t understand where it was all coming from. I was terrified I could’ve been shot.
“That was on my mind when I saw the gun she pointed at me. I remember thinking, 'This is it.' I was really terrified.
“I really believed I was going to be shot. I've thought of nothing else since.
“I am constantly reflecting on when she pulled the gun out — and how I felt to see that.
“When I saw her that day, I felt such tremendous pressure to act as I genuinely believed she was going to hurt a member of the public — and I knew it was my job to stop her doing that.
“I’ve been in the police seven years and never have I had someone pull a gun on me.
"This is not something I ever believed I would have to deal with.
“How does someone that age have such little regard for hurting someone?
“She is a danger. There is no doubt she tried to hurt me.”
A man came to her aid by restraining the teen on the ground.
PC Trickey was not the only person traumatised by the teen's actions.
A teaching assistant at the Island Learning Centre, Newport, saw the gun being used against a pupil, also believing it to be real.
“My initial feelings were of shock and fear. I was stunned," her statement said.
"To have a child bring the gun into school is shocking — whether it was real or not.
“When I saw her raise the gun and point it at the boy, I was so fearful when I heard the click of the trigger.
“I wondered what could’ve happened to me if I’d challenged the girl more forcefully or tried to restrain her.
“It will always stay with me. It looked like a real gun — enough for me to act as though it was a real gun.”
The learning centre was swiftly put into lockdown, and the girl was later apprehended in Newport.
She was given a custodial sentence yesterday.
Chief Inspector Rob Brind said: “This was understandably a concerning incident for the victims, who initially thought the weapon being carried was a viable firearm.
“Officers respond to incidents on the basis of the information we are provided with, and we hope the community are reassured that we will always act swiftly and in the interests of public safety when these types of incident are reported to us.
“We also want to thank the member of the public that intervened to help detain the suspect after one of our officers was assaulted.
“Assaults on police will not be tolerated. Police officers and staff perform a difficult and often dangerous role, but we do not view assaults as simply being part of the job.
“Officers and staff come into contact with people who are sometimes going through the worst experience of their lives, but this doesn’t give people the right to ever verbally or physically abuse our people.”
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