“I am the f***ing police”

Tuesday 21 June 2022

A former honorary policeman has been jailed for 15 months after assaulting a woman and leaving her with “injuries in every area of her body”.

Simon Rhys Williams (44) has also received a restraining order prohibiting him from contacting the victim for five years.

During the assault in August 2021, Williams placed his entire 23 stone weight on top of the victim as her held her down and attempted to choke her. 

When she threatened to call the police, he said: “I am the f***ing police”, in reference to his position as an honorary police officer.

Crown Advocate Simon Thomas, prosecuting, said that the attack happened after the pair started arguing as they returned to a property after an afternoon at the racecourse.

The victim went to grab her cigarettes from the arm of the chair where Williams was sat, and he pushed her to the floor as she was stood in front of him. It was around this moment that she threatened to dial 999 and Williams responded: “I am the f***ing police”.

Pictured: Former honorary policeman, Simon Rhys Williams (44) has been jailed for 15 months.

Williams then slid off the chair and placed his knees either side of the victim’s neck whilst she was on the floor. She was shouting “get off me, get off me” while Williams was “strangling” her with his knees. In evidence, the victim described how her attacker’s “eyes were bulging”.  

She also explained that he placed his hands around her throat so that she could not breathe and said that she thought that she was going to die from being choked. 

Williams’ whole 23 stone bodyweight was on the victim, with his feet in the air, while he was shouting: “f***ing choke, f***ing choke”. He only got off the victim when she bit him.

The victim then managed to get hold of a mobile phone, but Williams picked her up and threw her to the floor. He grabbed both of her hands and pulled her hair, meaning that she was unable to keep hold of the phone.

It was at this point that the victim hit Williams in the nose, and he proceeded to call the police. He informed them that the victim had punched him in the face and tried to kick him.  

The victim could be heard the background of the call denying this. Williams continued to allege that she was trying to hit him whilst he was on the telephone. 

During the call, Williams said that he was an honorary police officer for St Lawrence. He was advised to put some distance between himself and the victim, and he told the operator that she was now in the garden.

Two police officers arrived shortly after. Williams let them in to the property where they saw that he had blood on his nose. He told them that he had been attacked by the victim and also that he was an honorary policeman.

Advocate Thomas suggested that “the constant reference to his honorary position was an attempt by Williams to add credibility to the false account that he had given of the incident”.

The police officers then found the victim in the garden of the property in an emotional state due to the allegations that Williams had made against her. She was arrested and taken to the police station, where she was examined by a police doctor who found “injuries in every area of her body”.

The doctor identified fresh swelling and bruising to the victim’s neck, which is a difficult place to bruise accidentally because it is sheltered by the shoulder and the head. In his view, this injury was consistent with the victim’s allegation that Williams had strangled her. 

Similarly, a bruise to the centre of her chest was consistent with her allegation that the Williams had placed all his weight on her as he held her down. There were also significant abrasions and injuries to the rest of the victim’s body, which were all consistent with being grabbed and then being thrown to the ground.

The doctor then reported his findings and concerns to the police officers who interviewed the victim. She was then released from custody and taken back home.

Williams was then arrested at his home address in the early hours of the morning on 16 August 2021. He was taken to the police station and interviewed under caution. 

Williams gave an account during that interview in which he denied assaulting the victim. He said that she had been threatening and aggressive towards him, punching him in the nose as he tried to watch the TV.  He said that the only force he had applied to her was when he had “frogmarched” her out of the house by her shoulders to try and get her away from him.  

Initially, he said that he did not think that the victim had sustained any injuries as a result of the incident. 

After being shown photographic evidence, Williams accepted that most of the injuries had been caused during the altercation between them, which he described as “a crazy two or three minutes”. 

Advocate Thomas added that Williams “was unable to account for the injury to the victim’s neck”.

He recommended a jail sentence of 15 months, suggesting that the custody threshold had been passed.

Advocate Adam Harrison, defending, argued for a community punishment order due to Williams’ lack of previous convictions suggesting that the offence was unplanned and “in the heat of the moment”.

He added that the extent of the injuries was not permanent, as well as highlighting his client’s time as an honorary police officer.

Deputy Bailiff Robert MacRae, who was sitting with Jurats Elizabeth Dulake and Andrew Cornish, sentenced Williams to a term of 15 months’ imprisonment for common assault. 

The Court also made a restraining order prohibiting him from contacting the victim directly or indirectly, for a period of five years.