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French lady in 2007 police assault, arrested for assault of police officers
French woman knocked unconscious in 2007 assault, granted bail after arrest and charged with assaulting police officers.
30 May 2013, 12:00am
Chris Mangion
Chris Mangion
1 min read
64-year-old Catherine Pernot Sprangers - who in 2007 was assaulted by police sergeant David Sant in her car - was today granted bail after being arrested and charged with assaulting police officers.
The French national who lives in Swieqi was charged with assaulting and causing slight injuries to police officers and resisting arrest.
The police had been on order of Magistrate Francesco Depasquale to escort Sprangers to court after having been repeatedly summoned. The police confirmed that Sprangers was at home when they called but that she refused to open the door, so they proceeded with knocking down the front door.
Sprangers refused to collaborate, taking photos of the officers as they carried her in court, and hitting one of them with the camera. The officer claimed he had suffered slight injuries.
Communicating with the magistrate with the help of a translator, the accused pleaded not guilty to the charges leveled against her, and was granted bail against a personal guarantee of €2,000.
Inspector Luke Bonello prosecuted while Dr Tonio Azzopardi appeared for the accused.
In 2007 the French woman was filmed by a witness being knocked unconscious by a blow from sergeant David Sant, after Sprangers was seen grappling at his uniform when he stopped her in her car. In a marathon five-hour sitting, Magistrate Silvio Meli had found the sergeant guilty and sentenced him to four months' imprisonment suspended for a year. Sprangers had told the court she forgave Sant for his action.
Sprangers later demanded that MaltaToday pay her €30,000 in compensation for publicising a home video of the incident.
Chris Mangion is MaltaToday’s photojournalist, joining the newspaper in 2013.
In 1995...
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After such horrific experience suffered through the hands of an aggresive so called police officer who should in fact protect and not beat people let alone old ones, even if its unfair who would not see all those in uniform in bad light?
Was the coward permitted to remain in the mighty corps?
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and i ask thorney politely how he would have reacted if she was his beloved mother.
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an absolute disgrace to maltese justice/watching this video makes me ashamed to be a maltese citezen.the police involved had no right to treat an old lady like that.a complete shame.
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an absolute disgrace to maltese justice/watching this video makes me ashamed to be a maltese citezen.the police involved had no right to treat an old lady like that.a complete shame.
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French Lady? Lady?????
Send her back o France!
Joseph MELI •
Wasn't there a similar summons issued recently for DCG on similar charges but did the police resort to such drastic action or attempt to force entry into her home?Appears to me there is one law for the weak and unconnected and NO law for the powerful and connected!Also how quickly the police forget -as this lady was instrumental in ensuring that the bully Sargeant who attacked her never went to jail and kept his job!
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She should be put in jail or deported! Who does she think she is?!? Assaulting police officers and ignoring court orders are both very serious offences -- and it seems she still has not learnt her lesson by again attacking the officers escorting her to court upon court orders! ... Nowhere in the world would anyone be allowed to touch a police officer like she is seen doing on the video! The disgrace is that we let anyone, especially foreigners, touch our police officers and humiliate them this way! ... Compare the figure she needed to pay to be granted bail (2000 Euros) with the sum she was demanding of Maltatoday for showing her disgraceful behaviour on tape (30000 Euros) -- that alone shows shows how ridiculous our laws are! ... Ms Sprangers go home! Your rudeness is unacceptable and you are not welcome anymore, since you have abused our hospitality!
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After looking at the video carefully, I cannot conclude that the victim was "knocked unconscious." She was "knocked out", but that does not necessarily mean that she was also unconscious. After all, the police officer --- who, it has to be said in the interest of impartiality, appears to have been grievously provoked --- does not appear to have hit the victim in the head, and thereby the victim must have remained conscious, but "knocked out".
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It is truly shocking and disgraceful that anyone, even more so, the POLICE, act in this extremely COWARDLY way! Beating up old ladies is something we should not even expect of the most despicable of criminals!!!
