A man who fired an arrow at police while yelling “Get the f–k out of my driveway you c—s” has been sentenced to three years in prison.
Roger Charles Compain, 42, was told he could have killed the senior constable had the arrow struck him in the head during a recent appearance in the Supreme Court of Tasmania.
Justice Tamara Jago said several officers were dispatched to Compain’s mother’s home in Penguin on January 29, 2022, to conduct a welfare check.
When they arrived, Compain began yelling “Get the f–k off my property” and “F–k off or I’ll shoot” at them and fired an arrow from a compound bow.
The arrow narrowly missed the officer, only passing within approximately 50cm of his head.
“If it had struck him, there was potential for it to cause very serious injury,” Justice Jago said.
“It was an exceptionally dangerous thing for you to do.”
Compain continued to threaten the officers, yelling “I’ll kill you c—-s, f–k off or I’ll use this thing”, before charing at one of them with the bow in a firing position.
He then reversed his vehicle up the driveway towards the police, forcing four officers to jump out of the way.
Compain was later pulled over and arrested on the Bass Highway.
The home was quickly declared a crime scene, with investigators locating other weapons inside, including a sword lodged in the ceiling and a knife in the wall.
The arrow was found stuck in a fence.
Justice Jago said Compain had a difficult upbringing and mental health issues, including ADHD and a schizoaffective diagnosis.
She said prior to the incident, Compain had experienced problems with police and perceived he had been mistreated by them.
“I am told that when seven police officers arrived at your residence, you felt overwhelmed and intimidated,” she said.
“In response, you prepared your bow and loaded it with an arrow and demanded police officers leave. When they did not, you fired the arrow and behaved as I have described.”
Justice Jago said the one of the officers was left “shocked and scared” by the incident and “genuinely believed that she and the other officers were at risk of death”.
The officer who was fired at has been left traumatised.
“He is unable to sleep. He has flashbacks to the incident, constantly reliving the moment when the arrow passed so near to his head,” Jago said.
“Your behaviour was, in simple terms, appalling.”
Justice Jago sentenced Compain to three years in prison, backdated to January 6, 2023, with a non-parole period of 20 months.
