Sorry to hear about the 'butt on your bonce, nobs.
That seems, on the face of it, rather a brusque comment from the magistrate and unless your impact statement had been well OTT I can't really understand why the magistrate would say that to you.
Although in an ideal world* you shouldn't expect to be assaulted doing your job, in the real world shirley that is something police officers must expect? In order to be better prepared to their job, if nothing else. Don't misunderstand me here, I'm not advocating assaulting police officers. I'm merely suggesting that since your job involves dealing with criminals then the threat of being assaulted must be one of the risks that comes with the job. Maybe this is what the magistrate was getting at. Can't imagine that it made your head feel any better though, and as I said above, it seems like an unnecessary comment even if there might have been some truth in it.
It also made me think of that old recruitment poster I asked you for a while back which includes the line:
"You must expect a hostile reception from all sections of the public and be prepared to be assaulted, stoned or stabbed in the course of your duty."
Things have changed a bit since then. Most of the public support the police and view them as an essential part of the community. But the bit about being
* I'd argue though, of course, that in an ideal world there would be no necessity for any police anyway; so what would and wouldn't be expected whilst doing the job is a moot point!