Man who strangled and punched two female officers in hotel room was jailed for just 16 months

From the Newshound archive · first published 6 October 2026 · last updated 7 October 2026.

Xander Butler, 23, of Ipswich, was jailed for 16 months at Ipswich Crown Court after pleading guilty to intentionally strangling and beating two female police officers at a Capel St Mary hotel on July 29. The first officer had barely reached his door when Butler charged at her, drove her into a wall and clamped his arm around her neck; he then grabbed her colleague from behind and struck her in the face four or five times. One officer required hospital treatment for facial swelling, a bruised jaw and a head injury; both said the attack left them terrified and emotionally broken.

Sergeant Alasdair Nicol called it 'one of the worst assaults on police officers I have seen.'

One officer wrote: 'I genuinely feared for my life — I thought I might never see my family again.'

Butler was only subdued after the first officer deployed her Taser when he refused to comply.