Police officer fears she will 'never recover' from thug's brutal Wakefield street attack

Lithuanian Andrejus Kotovas turned on the officer who had been called to assist after complaining he couldn’t breathe.

He dragged her to the floor, sat astride her and told he was going to kill her.

The 51-year-old was jailed at Leeds Crown Court having been found guilty of ABH and making threats to kill after a trial.

In an emotional victim personal statement read to the court by prosecutor Sam Ponniah, the officer said the physical injuries had healed but she was still “struggling to cope and process what had happened”.

She added: “This is an incident I will never recover from. I felt violated and exposed by his actions.”

She said that she also feel “emotionally scarred” and the thought of Kotovas made her feel “nauseous”.

The court heard that Katavos had been on Queen Elizabeth Road on Wakefield’s Eastmoor estate on August 13 last year, when Kotovas asked members of the public to dial 999 because he was struggling to catch his breath.

The officer and paramedics attended when Kotovas became aggressive and obstructive.

But the officer “took a generous stance” and made it a “primary objective” for him to receive medical assistance and get checked over.

Kotovas then grabbed her by the wrists did not let go. He used force to slam her to the floor then straddled her so she could not move.

He forced his thumbs into her mouth to prise it open while shouting at her that he was going to “f****** kill her”.

The officer feared she was going to suffocate.

Kotovas, of Queen Elizabeth Grove, Wakefield, appeared in court via video link from HMP Leeds where he was being held on remand. A Lithuanian interpreter was required to translate proceedings.

Mitigating, Philip Mahoney said Kotovas had a “significant history” of mental-health problems, including two stays in a psychiatric unit.

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The court heard that it was “highly likely” that he had bipolar disorder and as a consequence suffered from “persecutory and paranoid beliefs”.

Judge Kate Rayfield told Kotovas: “She remains utterly traumatised by this incident and worries she will never emotionally recover and constantly relives the incident.

“During your trial you demonstrated no remorse whatsoever in my judgement.”

She jailed him for 30 months.