A POLICE officer was left with a dislocated knee and a fractured foot after being dragged along by a motorbike.
PS Nick Tucker is still experiencing pain almost one year after the incident on Knightswood Road, Eastleigh last December.
The officer, who works for Hampshire Constabulary’s roads policing unit, was attending a head-on crash when he spotted the off-road motorbike on the road.
Grabbing hold of the rider’s arm, PS Tucker tried to get the rider to stop. But when he refused, the officer was pulled to the ground as the bike took off.
READ MORE: Hampshire teenager jailed for dragging police officer down road in Eastleigh on motorbike
When the rider then fell off the bike, PS Tucker, 58, was dragged along when he caught his foot in the wheel.
Now, more than ten months on, the officer has only just returned to work and is still dealing with the consequences of that day.
He suffered a massive fracture to his foot as well as a dislocated knee cap.
He said: “My body was facing one way and my foot was facing the other.
“It is still a bit of a mess now. I’m still in quite a bit of pain. I’m still not back to full fitness.
“I have missed all my training over the last year because of the injuries.
“[The rider] caused a significant injury and it has had a significant effect on me, my family and friends. Physically as well as psychologically.”
Wesley Thomson-Bruske was jailed this week for ten months in connection with the incident.
He previously pleaded guilty to driving without a licence or insurance, failing to stop for police, drug driving, and assault causing actual bodily harm.
The 19-year-old of Avon Green, Chandler’s Ford, was also disqualified from driving for 23 months and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £187.
But now PS Tucker has said he thinks people who assault police officers should get tougher penalties.
The Chandler’s Ford-based Sergeant said: “He’s a young lad. He knew he had cannabis on him and he took no account of the fact he may have caused me an injury.
“What he did was stupid and reckless and he has apologised for that. I honestly believe he didn’t intend to cause me any injury.
He added that penalties for assaulting emergency workers "don’t go far enough" and that they "should be much more severe".
“I’m a father, I’m a grandfather, I’m a family man. When I’m not wearing a uniform I do the same as everybody else does.
“I do the job because there are bad people out there that need holding to account.”
PS Tucker, who has served in the police for 26 years and was previously in the airforce, added that he is still reflecting on what has happened but is happy to be back to work.
However, the way he now approaches situations has changed and if a similar incident were to arise, he would “like to think” that he would handle it differently.
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