Galambany Court sentences John Nocen for pouring petrol on ACT Policing officer

"You had no regard for anyone," Constable Michael Keck told offender John William Nocen, 43, in the Galambany Court on Thursday.

"You attempted to light me on fire ... I feared that I was not going home to my family that shift."

Constable Keck gave a victim impact statement before Nocen was sentenced to a backdated and mostly suspended two-year jail term.

Nocen had previously pleaded guilty to five charges, including two counts of using an inflammable substance in an act endangering health.

He also admitted charges of aggravated assault occasioning actual bodily harm, aggravated property damage and resisting a territory public official.

In his victim impact statement, Constable Keck described how he was "incredibly passionate about protecting the ACT community".

This meant he had no qualms about starting work early on the night in question, in January, when he attended an incident in Gordon.

Constable Keck and his colleagues arrived at the scene - Nocen's family home - to find the property damaged and the offender's wife "covered in blood".

He would later learn Nocen, who had separated from his wife at the time, had assaulted her while repeatedly attempting to enter the house.

Upon being told Nocen was in the garden shed, police went to the backyard.

Officers spotted the offender using a lighter to ignite petrol, which he had poured across the floor of the shed, despite his son urging him to stop.

Constable Keck grabbed Nocen in an attempt to pull him away from danger, but the 43-year-old resisted and, in the process, poured petrol all over him.

Nocen repeatedly punched and elbowed the officer, who hit his head on the ground, during a subsequent wrestle.

He continued trying to ignite the lighter throughout the struggle, causing a petrol-covered Constable Keck to feel "burning sensations".

Police eventually managed to arrest Nocen with the aid of capsicum spray.

"You showed crazy strength," Constable Keck told Nocen on Thursday.

"It took multiple police officers to restrain you."

Notwithstanding what had just occurred, the officer said he decontaminated the offender's eyes of petrol before his own.

"I don't forgive you for that night despite showing immense compassion and professionalism," Constable Keck told Nocen.

"That night will always be burnt into my memory."

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Nocen told the court he felt "embarrassed and ashamed" of his actions, which he claimed he could not remember.

"I had no intentions of doing it," the 43-year-old said.

"I was not in a good state of mind at the time. I was having relationship problems. It was like the world was going to end."

Addressing Constable Keck directly, he said: "I'm sorry for what I put you through."

Prior to his sentencing, Nocen spent about two-and-a-half months behind bars on remand.

Defence lawyer Sam Lynch asked the court to suspend any further jail time, highlighting the fact Nocen had a brain injury and major depressive disorder.

Mr Lynch also noted the 43-year-old had no prior criminal history.

Prosecutor Elizabeth Wren said the danger associated with Nocen's repeated attempts to ignite the lighter was "obvious to everyone".

"It really, frankly, is only luck that the injuries sustained by Constable Keck were not more serious," Ms Wren told the court.

In sentencing, special magistrate Anthony Hopkins accepted Nocen was remorseful and "deeply ashamed" of his crimes.

"It's not a situation where you were making rational choices at the time," he said.

Dr Hopkins agreed with the recommendation of a panel of Indigenous elders, who sought a suspended jail term rather than an intensive correction order.

He noted Nocen and his wife, who have reconciled since the offending, were "doing all that's possible to do" in terms of rehabilitation.

The magistrate also acknowledged Nocen had endured a deprived childhood, marred by violence and being made to work as part of a "travelling show".

Dr Hopkins ultimately suspended the rest of Nocen's jail sentence in favour of two-year good behaviour orders.

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