Andrew Swift in hospital after the incident. Photo: WA Police
Camera IconAndrew Swift in hospital after the incident. Photo: WA Police Credit: Supplied/Jim Kelly

Rockingham: man jailed for slashing police officer’s head with sword

AAPWeekend Kwinana Courier

A MAN who tried to kill a Perth policeman by slashing his head with a samurai sword has been sentenced to nine years in prison.

Milos Radovic, 47, stood trial in the West Australian Supreme Court charged with attempting to murder Senior Constable Andrew Swift.

Senior Constable Swift had been called to a domestic dispute in Rockingham in July 2017.

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Milos Radovic. Photo: Facebook
Camera IconMilos Radovic. Photo: Facebook Credit: Supplied/Milos Radovic/facebook

Radovic, who had claimed he suffered a muscle spasm when he was tasered and never intended to kill the officer, must spend at least seven years behind bars before he can be eligible for parole.

Justice Bruno Fiannaca dismissed the spasm, saying during sentencing on Thursday that much of Radovic’s evidence was improbable and he was neither a credible or reliable witness.

The judge described it as a “dynamic and frightening event that occurred quickly”.

Radovic had shouted “I’m going to kill you all” and “I want to die” before he struck the officer.

By his own admission, Radovic’s sword was “sharp like a razor blade” and Justice Fiannaca said Radovic was proficient in its use.

The judge said Radovic was intent on causing harm with an expectation he might be killed, too.

He described Radovic’s behaviour as violent, erratic and aggressive.

“You were in a rage. You were behaving irrationally.”

The court heard Radovic and his wife had an acrimonious separation and in January 2015 she took out a violence restraining order against him.

In July 2017, he went to court in an attempt to vary the terms of the VRO so he could see his children but the case was adjourned and the next day he committed his crimes.

Radovic went to a unit complex owned by his former wife’s parents, made threats and banged on his former sister-in-law’s door.

He left before police arrived but returned as Sen Const Swift and his partner were at his ex-wife’s home taking statements.

Justice Fiannaca said even if Radovic had become angry because he believed a rumour his son had become a drug mule, his behaviour set an appalling example for his children and traumatised them.

The judge also noted the toll on Sen Const Swift and his family, and praised the officer for his “considerable courage”.

“He has been affected both professionally and personally,” Justice Fiannaca said.

Radovic must spend at least seven years behind bars before he can be eligible for parole.

Radovic was a former boxer, who fought Danny Green twice in the 1990s when both were amateurs.