Mom Who Threw Her Baby At A Police Officer & Inflicted Life-Changing Injuries, To Walk Free

Two years ago, a mother threw her own baby at a police officer and caused him life changing injuries. Now, she is going to walk free.

In November 2017, 24-year-old Kirsty Bearfield was at Hull Royal Infirmary with her two children, their father - a social worker - and two police officers. There was a report of a "non-accidental" injury to the older child.

Even though the injury was not deemed suspicious, Social services decided to remove the child from Bearfield's care for the night. Prosecutor Phillip Evans told Hull Crown Court, "That was news which the defendant did not take well."

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Mr Evans said that, "Upon hearing this news the defendant, say the Crown, threw [the baby] at the officer with a look of anger on her face." The officer "put her arms up and caught [the baby] who had been flung towards her," Mirror quoted Mr Evans as saying.

The baby weighed 13 kg, or 30 lb and the officer was in "immediate discomfort". An MRI scan revealed a trapped nerve in her lower spine, which required surgery. The detective was at a risk of losing the use of her left arm, but her surgery was successful.

According to the Mirror, the incident had "exacerbated" a pre-existing medical condition which she may never have known about, had the incident not happened.

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However, she was still in pain and another surgery for a "frozen shoulder", a condition which was "exclusively attributable" to Bearfield throwing her baby at the detective, was performed on her. The officer had to give up climbing, swimming and walking and she no longer could hold a hair dryer. She could not even dress herself.

Talking about the incident the officer said, "I hate that we are forever linked that way as I don't think I will ever forget her or what happened. It made me leave a role I was good at. I have nightmares about her chucking her son and what could have happened. She needs to be made to realise you can't behave like that. She robbed me of being able to be a mum to my child and that I can never forgive."

Steven Garth, mitigating, told Judge Paul Watson QC, Honorary Recorder of Hull and the East Riding, "I do, with the utmost possible force, suggest to this court it would be possible in this case to stand back from immediate custody and to follow the recommendation of the pre-sentence report, albeit, perhaps, under the authority of a suspended sentence order."

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"I submit that this is a highly unusual case. The defendant, as your honour has heard, is 24 years of age. She had the most wretched start to life. Both her parents were heroin addicts and they did not want her. She was neglected by them and placed in care when just a toddler. By the age of five she had been placed with 39 different foster carers spread around the country."

After hearing all this the judge sentenced Bearfield to 12 months in jail, suspended her for 18 months, and gave her 25 days of rehab.

We cannot be the judge of whether it was right for the court to let Bearfield walk free, but we cannot ignore the fact that a woman¡¯s life has been altered completely because of her.