Bunbury Detectives have charged a 60-year-old man in relation to an incident in Manjimup on Monday 3 August 2020, in which an employee of the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) was assaulted.
About 9:50am the DWER employee attended a private property on Franklin Road to lawfully conduct an inspection of the property, as per their duties as a public officer. The employee has the legal authority to enter a private property to perform those duties.
It will be alleged when the DWER employee returned to their vehicle a man linked to the unoccupied property approached him in an aggressive manner and became violent, placing the DWER employee in a headlock and wrestling him to the ground.
The DWER employee was only freed when he advised the man he could not breathe and that his voice recorder was not activated.
A 60-year-old man has been charged with Assault Public Officer and is due to appear in the Manjimup Magistrates Court on Thursday 8 October 2020.
A WA Police Force spokesperson said no person should fear for their safety when going about their lawful business.
"To see a public officer assaulted in such a manner is simply unacceptable. Every person who goes to work should be able to feel safe when performing their duties.
"There are many scenarios where a public officer may be entitled to enter a private property, and there is no excuse for such violence to be used in any circumstances. A public officer will be able to identify themselves and provided information on their legal powers to do the work they are doing, and those legal powers need to be respected."
