Gary Davies, 34, of Kew Road, was sentenced at Hull Crown Court on Friday for assaulting an officer who was trying to arrest him on Crow Hill Avenue in the small hours of 18 June. The officer needed hospital treatment. For residents across North East Lincolnshire, this is the kind of case that tests whether the system actually protects the people doing the protecting on our streets.
What happened on the night
Prosecutor Harry Bradford told the court that Davies was already the subject of a three-year restraining order, imposed on 6 May 2025 after a twelve-month custodial sentence for intentional strangulation, battery and criminal damage against his then partner. Part of that order barred him from Crow Hill Avenue entirely.
At a quarter to three in the morning on 18 June, that order was breached. An officer approached Davies on Mill Road — the street that runs perpendicular to Crow Hill Avenue — and Davies gave a false name. He was recognised. He was told he was being arrested. He responded with a closed fist to the officer's face.
The blow knocked the officer to the floor. Davies ran. Several officers gave chase down Crow Hill Avenue. After a few minutes he stopped — but he did not go quietly. He told the pursuing officers "You'll have to put me down, I'm not laying down, no way mate" and, when that did not work, "What are you going to do, shoot me?"
Then came the boast that has stuck with anyone who has read the transcript. Of the officer he had just floored, Davies said: "He fell to the floor like a sack of sh**."
What the court decided
Recorder Gordon Stables did not mince his words. Davies, he said, was "someone who resorts to his fists first," and he warned him that his children would not be proud of him if he carried on this way. The court was told Davies has 16 previous convictions for 27 offences.
The sentence: nine months imprisonment, suspended for two years. Six months for assaulting an emergency worker, three months for escaping lawful custody to run consecutively, and two months for the restraining order breach running concurrently. On top of that, 100 hours of unpaid work, 20 days of rehabilitation activity, and £1,000 in compensation to the officer he punched.
What this means for the street
A suspended sentence means Gary Davies will be back out in Cleethorpes while this column is still being read. That is the plain reality, and residents are entitled to be uneasy about it. The restraining order was put in place to protect one person in particular; if it is breached again, residents should expect a visible and fast response — not a waiting game.
This is also a reminder of something we do not say often enough. The people on patrol in our area take hits, and sometimes end up in hospital because of them. If you see an officer on Mill Road, Crow Hill Avenue or anywhere in Cleethorpes dealing with a situation alone, keep your eyes open. Non-emergency reports go through 101; emergencies through 999. Community intelligence only flows if it goes both ways — straight answers from residents to the police, and straight answers back.