NASSAU- A man who clobbered a policeman in a viral video was yesterday sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment.
Julian Butler, 23, apologized for the caught-on-camera assault of a uniformed traffic officer that caused a traffic jam on the Tonique Williams Darling Highway on July 5, 2021.
Butler shoved and punched the officer and tried to unholster his firearm in the disturbing incident, the court heard.
He got the better of traffic cop Tyrese Smith until a policeman who witnessed the assault came to his rescue.
Sergeant 3395 Travis Strachan ran towards the men and pulled his gun on Butler, while ordering him to stop resisting.
Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt rejected a plea by Butler’s lawyer Glendon Rolle for a conditional discharge.
Ferguson-Pratt said she “shuddered to think” about what could have happened if Sergeant Strachan hadn’t come to the officer’s aid.
She said, “I want to send a clear message to would-be offenders that this is not a matter where the court would just say naughty boy don’t do it again.”
The incident stemmed from a routine stop after Butler, who was riding a scooter, ran the red light on Cordeaux Avenue.
Butler stopped initially, but he sped off before Officer Smith could write him a ticket.
With Smith in pursuit, Butler weaved in and out of traffic and rode into oncoming traffic on the highway.
The chase ended when Butler fell off his scooter as he tried to cross the median, according to the prosecution. However, Butler’s lawyer said the officer kicked his client off the bike.
Butler was also fined $1,000 or four weeks in prison for driving in a manner dangerous to the public; driving a vehicle without third-party insurance, and driving a vehicle without a valid driver’s license.
