Her third violent offence in less than two years,  Ashmont’s Tania Jacobsen pleaded guilty to assaulting and resisting police. 

When police attended Jacobsen’s home on January 23 searching for a man who had been caught travelling 80 kilometres an hour in a residential zone, they encountered an unexpected road block. 

Screaming and swearing at police to “… get off him”, Jacobsen pulled the man back into the house. 

With Jacobsen’s encouragement, family members rushed to help separate the man from officers, with one child arming himself with a metal walking stick. 

Shortly after the man’s arrest, Jacobsen threw the ornament at the officers’ backs, from about three metres away, hitting one in the left knee. 

Jacobsen then refused treatment for two of the children suffering from secondary contamination after police were forced to use capsicum spray on the man, despite one of the children suffering from asthma. 

Solicitor Jim Allen asked the magistrate to consider Jacobsen’s role as a maternal figure and her completion of an anger management course in delivering the sentence. 

Mr Allen told the court Jacobsen had shown regret and said thinking about her behaviour made her want to cry.

“With six kids at home and her mother’s ailing health, she had a lot on her plate,” Mr Allen said. 

Magistrate Brian Van Zuylen said the offences were very serious, especially given Jacobsen’s history of violence. 

“It can be distressing when you have to watch someone being arrested, but police should not expect to have a 17-kilogram ornament thrown at them,” Mr Van Zuylen said. 

“You are lucky you didn’t hit them in the head – it could’ve been catastrophic.” 

Mr Van Zuylen said he understood Jacobsen’s carer needs but he needed to send a clear message to the community. 

“You can’t just throw ornaments or tables at a police officer,” Mr Van Zuylen said. 

Jacobsen was ordered to serve two concurrent eight-month jail sentences, with four months’ non-parole.

Jacobsen has lodged a severity appeal against the sentence.