Family 'gutted' as sentences cut for police officers who assaulted woman

The family of a Sydney woman who was dragged by her hair, kicked, stomped on and repeatedly pepper sprayed by police while experiencing psychosis, say they are "gutted" the officers have had years slashed from their prison sentences.

Both men were jailed in August 2025 over the assault of Jodi Knott.

Nathan Black's five year nine-month maximum sentence was reduced to three years, two-months, with his non-parole period ending in September 2027.

Timothy Trautsch's maximum sentence was cut from five years, six-months to three. He becomes eligible for parole in August 2027.

Both men could be released from jail as early as next year, after successfully appealing their sentences in the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal on Monday.

Family 'gutted' by decision

Ms Knott's cousin Nichole Allen said the family was "gutted" by the decision.

"It's heart-wrenching… a real kick in her guts," Ms Allen said.

The original sentencing judge found both the assault and the misuse of pepper spray were aggravated by "gratuitous cruelty".

However, the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal ruled that was an error in relation to the assault because the brutality of the violence had already been factored into its seriousness, creating a risk of "double counting".

The judges upheld the finding that the officers' misuse of pepper spray was gratuitously cruel and maintained that their common assaults were "…at the top of the range" of objective seriousness.

Justice Hament Dhanji said the officers had displayed a "shocking lack of humanity" towards Ms Knott.

"The applicants held a position of authority which was abused. But these things were all known and taken into account by the sentencing judge."

Police had been responding to a Triple Zero (000) call about a naked woman sitting beside the road at Emu Plains.

The court found the officers became impatient and frustrated while trying to get her into an ambulance, ultimately resorting to what the judges described as "needless violence".

"This was a problem of the applicants' own making though their impatience, failure to call for assistance and, it seems, impoverished understanding of the nature of psychosis and how to deal with it," Justice Dhanji said.

"But those matters did not have the result that the brutality which followed was such as to make out the aggravating feature of gratuitous cruelty for the purposes of the Sentencing Act."

Pair 'extremely fearful' in jail

The NSW Court of Criminal Appeal also found the men had demonstrated remorse, and accepted their time in custody had been "more onerous" given their former employment as police officers and their mental health conditions.

Both had been threatened by inmates and were "extremely fearful," the court heard.

Ms Knott died of cancer 18 months after the 2023 attack.

Police body-worn footage capturing her treatment later formed part of an ABC Four Corners investigation into NSW policing, in which her relatives pushed for reform to the way police respond to people experiencing acute mental illness.

In July the NSW government introduced a new health-led response model for mental health emergencies, moving away from police-led interventions.

"She's been let down but hopefully it will be safer for other people going forward," Ms Allen said.