Moment two men batter council worker with wooden pole after he issues litter fine
Two men have been convicted of assault after they attacked a council worker with a wooden mop handle when he issued a fine for littering.
Shocking footage from the victim’s body camera shows that Raja Malik, 30, and Mohammed Nawaz, 50, assaulted him in Dudley, West Midlands.
The litter officer, aged 35, suffered bruising from the attack but was not seriously injured.
He had spotted women flicking cigarette butts from a car window in Pickford Street, Kates Hill, on 12 August and moved in to issue fines on seeing the car later parked in Jasmine Street.
Watch: Moment two men attack litter officer
But as he was taking their details Malik emerged from a house and confronted the officer arguing “everyone chucks cigarette butts…I’ve done it” before hurling racist abuse.
Nawaz joined in, chasing the council contractor and hitting him with a mop handle - the force of the blow saw the pole shatter into several pieces.
Police eventually identified the men and were forced to kick down the door of a house in Jasmine Street to get to them after they refused to open up on 30 August.
Malik was charged with assault and racially aggravated assault and Nawaz with assault and using an offensive weapon.
They appeared at Wolverhampton Crown Court on 27 May where they admitted the offences and were handed suspended jail terms.
Malik was given a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, while Nawaz was given a six-month sentence suspended for a year.
Both were also ordered to pay the victim £500 in compensation.
Dudley Police Inspector Pete Sandhu, said: “This was a really shocking incident, a violent attack and racist abuse against a council contractor who was simply doing his job.
“The women who’d been seen littering remained calm, engaged with the officer and urged the two men not to get involved.
“But they ignored their pleas, threatened the victim and Nawaz shattered a wooden pole over him as he tried to retreat.
“There is absolutely no excuse for this kind of behaviour and the two men should be ashamed of their actions.”
