First photo of stabbed policeman
The first image has emerged of a young police officer stabbed while on duty.
A photo of Const. Kean Ball-Hornblow, with a bandage across the right side of his chest, was posted on Facebook yesterday by his family.
The Kiara police station officer was stabbed in the chest as he did a welfare check on a 20-year-old woman on Wednesday night.
The knife grazed his lung. He had surgery on Thursday.
Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan visited the 22-year-old in Royal Perth Hospital and said Const. Ball-Hornblow was more concerned for the woman than his own wellbeing.
Police said the woman had been acting erratically prior to the incident and was undergoing a mental assessment.
No charges have been laid.
"One of the things that Kean said he was very concerned for was the welfare of the person they were dealing with and they needed to be careful how they dealt with that person," Mr O'Callaghan said.
"He's in a bit of pain but he's in good spirits."
It is the second time in four months Const. Ball-Hornblow has made headlines.
In January, the officer - who doubles as a volunteer firefighter at the Sawyers Valley brigade - saved homes in the Parkerville bushfires. His own rental property went up in flames.
