Man pushes cop off railway platform

A Cheshire man who pushed an officer onto railway lines in Manchester has been sentenced to 30 months in prison. Kevin Phythian, 32, of Halton Road, Runcorn, grappled with the officer as she tried to arrest him after he had run across live tracks onto the platform at Manchester Oxford Road station on Sunday, 15 February. As the officer struggled with Phythian, he pushed her, causing her to fall backwards off the platform and onto the line. A quick-thinking station supervisor, who was also assaulted by Phythian as he tried to prevent him escaping from the scene, used an emergency phone to stop all trains to ensure she was not hit by a train. The officer, who was knocked unconscious, also sustained a cut to the back of her head, a broken finger and bruising to her arm. Phythian had earlier racially-abused a member of rail staff who asked to see his ticket at Oxford Road. Detective Constable Mike Dermody said: "The sentence handed to Phythian demonstrates the severity of his actions and the danger that our frontline officers face every day. No officer should have to endure such violence when they are simply carrying out their job, and putting themselves in harm's way to protect the public. "This was an unprovoked attack on a police officer working in the line of duty and trying to detain a suspect. Violence against our officers and rail staff will not be tolerated, and we will seek to have them dealt with swiftly by the courts." Phythian was sentenced to 18 months for aggravated bodily harm, six months for endangering rail safety, three months for racially-aggravated public order, and three months for common assault. Source: http://www.btp.police.uk/latest_news/officer_pushed_onto_tracks.aspx#sthash.rEVxyMsp.dpuf