An anti-vax Adelaide mother-of-four brutally scalped a pregnant police officer during a fight outside a pub – but will not spend a day in jail, sparking a furious backlash.
Raina Jane Cruise, 39, was given a two-year suspended sentence after being found guilty of the brutal assault which tore out a huge swath of the officer’s hair.
But Cruise did not apologize in the Adelaide District Court and instead issued a bizarre warning to his victim, Constable Anthea Beck.
“Yes, I would say don’t vaccinate your daughter,” Cruise told media in court.
Now South Australia’s Acting Police Commissioner Linda Williams has criticized the decision to release her after the cowardly attack.
He has demanded an urgent appeal against the sentence and says he wants Cruise behind bars for the savage attack.
“The suspended sentence is inconsistent with community standards and has distressed senior police officers,” Williams said.
‘I have asked our prosecution team to examine the comments on the sentence and initiate a discussion with the Public Prosecutor’s Office with a view to appealing the result.
Raina Jane Cruise, 39, (pictured) was given a two-year suspended sentence after being found guilty of the brutal assault.
The court heard Cruise launched a violent attack on Constable Anthea Beck outside the Exeter Hotel in Adelaide, leaving the officer with a large section of hair torn from his scalp (pictured).
“In an environment where attacks against police are increasing, a suspended sentence in this case simply sends the wrong message and is totally unacceptable.”
He added: “Potential offenders should be aware that if they assault an emergency services worker there will be serious consequences and they can expect a prison sentence as permitted by law.”
‘And police officers who put themselves in danger every shift need to know that they have the full support of the judicial system.
“The suspended sentence handed down to Raina Jane Cruise, who was found guilty of a violent, sustained and cowardly attack on a female officer, has failed to meet any of these basic expectations.”
Cruise describes herself as a naturopath and homeopath and also assaulted two security guards that same night at the Exeter Hotel on Adelaide’s Rundle Street.
The court heard that Cruise was highly intoxicated after attending a freedom rally in October 2021, but was ejected from the venue over a dispute over mask mandates.
His first victims were two hotel security guards whom he admitted attacking when he appeared in court on December 4, grabbing one by the windpipe and punching him in the throat.
The court heard she had hit the other guard on the head.
Cruise and the two men he left the scene with were detained by Beck and another police officer who was investigating the assaults on security guards.
Cruise was very drunk during the night of partying.
Acting Police Commissioner Linda Williams criticized the decision to release Cruise.
Raina Cruise (pictured) failed to apologize outside the Adelaide District Court and instead delivered a bizarre warning to her victim, Constable Anthea Beck.
Prosecutors said Cruise compared police to Nazi Germany before “grabbing onto Officer Beck” and dragging her to the ground.
The court was told Cruise pulled Officer Beck’s hair and smashed her head into the pavement while shouting: “I’ll smash you one by one, bitch.”
Officer Beck, who did not know she was pregnant at the time, admitted in court that he had punched Cruise twice during the attack.
“She has a fistful of my hair, she has control of my head, she’s shaking me and it hurts, she’s on top of me and I can’t get out,” Officer Beck said.
“I was losing control of the situation, I was afraid for my safety, I was very afraid, because I had this person who was quite heavy on top of me.
‘I’m alone, no one is coming, I have to get out of this situation because how many times do I let the road hit the back of my head?’
Beck suffered multiple injuries during the altercation, including two large clumps of hair torn from his scalp.
The officer later presented a victim impact statement after she discovered she was pregnant at the time of the incident.
Cruise, who is a vocal anti-vaccine, posed for a bizarre image in a bra made from Covid masks.
The court was told Cruise pulled Officer Beck’s hair and smashed her head into the pavement while shouting: “I’ll smash you one by one, bitch.”
Officer Anthea Beck suffered multiple injuries during the altercation, including two large clumps of hair torn from her scalp.
‘When you kicked me, you kicked my baby. “I can’t think about my pregnancy without thinking about you,” Beck said in her statement.
‘So trapped in yourself that you couldn’t see me for who I am. I am a woman, a mother like you. I would have listened to you.’
Cruise was found guilty of causing intentional harm to Officer Beck after denying the charge in court. The incident breached a previous two-year good behavior bond.
District Court Judge Joanne Deuter said Cruise had been “significantly intoxicated” but that did not excuse her “violent” behavior.
“I accept that you have a problem with your behavior after drinking alcohol and that you became particularly excited after attending an anti-vaccine demonstration,” Judge Deuter said.
“However, that is not an excuse and should never be an excuse for attacking a person who is simply doing their job.”
He added: ‘His resentment against the government’s vaccine policy came to light when the police questioned him.
“You inappropriately expressed your anger toward the police.”
Judge Deuter sentenced Cruise to three years and eight months with a two-year non-parole period, but suspended him on a three-year good behavior bond.
Includes 100 hours of community service and a ban on alcohol consumption.
The Director of Public Prosecutions has 21 days to file an appeal.