Man jailed for assault on APCOA enforcement officer

Victim of vicious attack loses sight in one eye

A man whose attack on an APCOA patrol officer left the victim blind in one eye has been jailed for nine years.

Following a British Transport Police (BTP) investigation, Tim Greenaway, aged 49, was found guilty of Grievous Bodily Harm with Intent and sentenced at the Royal Courts of Justice on 22 January.

The court heard how, on16 June 2023, the victim was in the process of issuing a fixed penalty notice to a woman for littering outside Vauxhall Station when Greenaway interrupted, shouting at him and filming the interaction on his mobile phone.

The patrol officer walked away to avoid an altercation, but Greenaway followed him into the entrance of the station, shouting abuse at him. When the victim turned around to face Greenaway, the assailant shoved his phone in the officer’s face. The victim pushed Greenaway’s hand away causing his phone to fall to the floor.

Enraged, Greenaway attacked the victim knocking him to the ground with a punch before straddling him and repeatedly punching him in the face until a member of the public dragged him off.

Passers-by ran to the victim’s aid and restrained Greenaway with the help of an off-duty police officer until BTP officers arrived and arrested him.

The victim spent a number of days in hospital being treated for injuries which included an operation on a fractured eye socket and dislocated shoulder. Doctors say sight in the injured eye will never return.

BTP Detective Constable Steve Potter said: “Justice has now caught up with Greenaway thanks to our investigation. Sadly his victim continues to struggle with the consequences of this unprovoked attack over two years later. Greenaway’s frenzied attack has had a devastating impact on the victim. He’s a family man who had to give up his job due to the injuries he sustained and must endure further operations to reconstruct his eye socket.

“A special mention must be given to those brave members of the public who intervened and no doubt prevented the victim from sustaining further injuries. Their continued support throughout the investigation helped secure Greenaway’s conviction.”

APCOA said: “Our officers carry out necessary enforcement duties on behalf of local authorities, rail operators, airports, hospitals and many other organisations – they don’t make the rules and neither do they benefit financially from issuing penalty notices. Violence or abuse towards our colleagues is completely unacceptable. APCOA has a zero-tolerance approach to such behaviour and will always pursue justice for those who are subjected to abuse or assault while carrying out their duties.”