Woman repeatedly assaulted police officers

A woman who assaulted police officers five times on three different occasions has been sentenced.

On 28 December 2022, Lena Shepherd, 25, was in a car which police attempted to pull over in March, after it was suspected the driver was under the influence of alcohol.

The car failed to stop but was found in Staffurths Bridge, having crashed.

Shepherd and a man had gotten out of the car by the time officers arrived and were both arrested for failing to stop for police and failing to provide a specimen for analysis after they both denied being the driver and would not complete a roadside breath test.

Shepherd was further arrested after she punched and kicked officers while being detained.

While under investigation for the offences, Shepherd was arrested on two further occasions in August 2023 and January this year. She was arrested in Waterbeach on 24 August after she was stopped in a car that was suspected to be linked to thefts in East Cambridgeshire. She was again further arrested for assaulting officers during her arrest, as well as racially abusing custody staff.

On 1 January this year, police were called out to a restaurant in Cambridge City Centre after Shepherd had reportedly tried to leave without paying and was being abusive to staff. Upon being arrested she was found with ketamine on her and again, assaulted a police officer.

Shepherd, of no fixed address, appeared at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (30 April), where she was sentenced to 14 weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to pay £150 in compensation to the victim of an assault in Soham on 18 June last year, after a fallout over parking.

She has also been given a 40-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement (RAR) and disqualified from driving for three years after admitting a total of 12 offences:

• Two counts of assaulting an emergency worker by beating in Knights End Road, March, on 28 December 2022
• Failing to provide a specimen for analysis in Knights End Road, March, on 28 December 2022
• Assault by beating in High Street, Soham, on 18 June 2023
• Racially aggravated harassment at King’s Lynn Police Investigation Centre, on 24 August 2023
• Two counts of assaulting an emergency worker on the A10, Waterbeach, on 24 August 2023
• Obstructing an emergency worker on the A10, Waterbeach, on 24 August 2023
• Failing to provide a sample for a class A drugs test on 24 August 2023
• Assaulting an emergency worker in Gwydir Street, Cambridge, on 1 January 2024
• Racially aggravated harassment in Gwydir Street, Cambridge, on 1 January 2024
• Possession of a class B drug (ketamine) on January 1, 2024

PC Chad Hall, who investigated, said: “Shepherd continually tried to stop us from doing our jobs by giving false details and resisting arrest and physically assaulting officers.

“When coming to work, we are aware of the dangers that come with the role, but to be continually put at risk of harm by one individual is completely unacceptable.

“I hope that everyone who was assaulted by Shepherd, both physically and verbally, is provided some reassurance by this action that we will not tolerate such behaviour and will put offenders before the courts.”