A SHOCKING video shows the moment a policeman is punched six times in quick succession and is left writhing on the floor.
This was one of seven separate assaults against police officers that have landed a Reading man in jail.
Brandon Gillas, of King’s Road, has been locked up after spitting, punching and kicking on-duty officers in three separate incidents over the past year.
The first incident came on June 18, 2021, when police were called to Gillas’s accomodation after he was seen throwing a weight out of a window.
READ MORE: Rowe Court fire trial could be pushed back to October
Officers entered his room and Gillas punched and spat at one of them.
Bodycam footage played at his sentencing showed the 24-year-old wriggling on his bed shouting and screaming at officers.
He called one a ‘sausage’ and another a c***. He was taken to a police van where he dug his nails into another officer’s skin before kicking them in the genitals.
The incident concluded with Gillas digging his nails into the skin of a third officer.
Police responded to a second incident involving Gillas outside Al Medina Halal supermarket on Oxford Road at close to 1am on August 19, 2021.
Officers had been called after it was reported Gillas had fought with two men at the BP petrol station further down the same road.
READ MORE: Distress after woman's daughter eats bird poo
When police arrived, they assessed Gillas’s state and were able to discover he had consumed two bags of cocaine and a large amount of alcohol, prosecutor Rhian Wood said.
Bodycam footage from this incident -- again played in court -- showed Gillas picking up a fruit crate and raising it over his head in order to threaten the officers surrounding him.
A PC sprayed him and he started sprinting down the middle of Oxford Road. He was arrested but managed to punch a female officer in the face.
After first being taken to A&E, Gillas was taken to custody where he scratched a PC on the face, hand and leg. A third officer received bruising on the arm after being assaulted by Gillas.
Six months later, on February 10, 2022, police were again called to Gillas’s address for an unspecified reason.
He was taken to custody where he was told to remove his items from his person in a room with two officers.
Gillas tried to smoke his vape but one of the officers intervened and tried to take it from him.
READ MORE: Tesla driver fined thousands of pounds having no insurance
The 24-year-old reacted badly to this and punched the officer six times to the head and face, leaving him on the floor in a foetal position, CCTV footage showed.
He received a suspected broken nose after being assaulted.
For this attack, Gillas was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Ms Wood said Gillas had 32 convictions for 77 offences, which included nine convictions related to assaulting emergency workers.
Nick Saunders, defending, said Gillas was on the autistic spectrum and he had a bad childhood.
The barrister said: “He is tired of coming in and out of prison and he realises this is no way to live a life.”
Referencing the defendant’s ASD and bad childhood, Recorder Mr Dyer, sentencing, said: “There comes a time when all that wears out as an excuse.”
Gillas was sentenced to 16 months in prison for six counts of assaulting an emergency worker and one count of assault occasioning ABH.
He appeared at Reading Crown Court on Monday, April 25.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here