A 26-year-old man, Brian Charles Parfitt, was sentenced to a 13-month suspended prison term and a $100 fine for headbutting an ambulance windshield while naked in Western Australia's Goldfields on December 7 last year. The incident caused thousands of dollars in damage and left paramedics terrified. Parfitt had been released from prison four months prior to the attack, which was described as a "mental health episode" by his lawyers, but no further details were mentioned. Magistrate Donna Webb cited Parfitt's significant mental health issues and 261 days already spent in custody when handing down the sentence.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-24,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Brian Charles Parfitt, 26, caused $thousands of dollars in damage to an ambulance when he headbutted its windshield while naked on a public street in Boulder, Western Australia. The incident occurred on December 7 last year, and the paramedics inside were terrified as they tried to dislodge Parfitt from the vehicle. After causing chaos, Parfitt smashed his head through the windscreen and crawled into the ambulance before being apprehended. Despite his erratic behavior, a magistrate decided that a $100 fine and a suspended prison term was sufficient punishment due to Parfitt's significant mental health issues. This decision was partly influenced by a letter from Parfitt's father, who expressed pride in his son's efforts to turn his life around and had made arrangements for him to receive support services.
Written for “Country Ambulance Attack” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 1918 · logged 2026-08-28
In short:
A man who headbutted an ambulance windshield while naked in WA's Goldfields has avoided further jail time.
asserted
who → headbutt → time
Brian Charles Parfitt caused thousands of dollars damage to the ambulance and terrified St John paramedics during the incident.
asserted
Parfitt → cause → incident
A magistrate handed him a suspended prison term and fine, citing his significant mental health issues as a key factor.
asserted
magistrate → hand → factor
A man who smashed his head through the windscreen of an ambulance while naked on a public street in Western Australia's Goldfields has been handed a suspended sentence and $100 fine.
asserted
who → smash → sentence
Brian Charles Parfitt attacked the ambulance, and the paramedics inside, on December 7 last year after he had been spotted behaving erratically on the streets of Boulder, 600km east of Perth.
asserted
he → attack → Perth
Parfitt, 26, attempted to climb the first ambulance on scene before mounting the second and repeatedly smashing his head into the windscreen.
asserted
Parfitt → attempt → windscreen
The paramedics inside drove back and forth in an attempt to dislodge him, before he smashed his head through the windscreen and began crawling inside.
asserted
he → drive → windscreen
The St John Ambulance staff fled the vehicle and ran to the second ambulance, with Parfitt apprehended a short time later and placed into an induced coma.
asserted
Parfitt → flee → coma
Parfitt's lawyers had previously indicated he was having a "mental health episode" at the time of the incident, but further details have not been mentioned during court proceedings.
asserted
details → indicate → proceedings
Video of the incident, which the ABC has chosen not to republish, was circulated widely on social media and sparked a campaign from St John's around the near-constant violence faced by the ambulance service's staff.
asserted
ABC → choose → staff
Prosecutors urged prison term
As Parfitt faced the Kalgoorlie Magistrates Court on Monday for sentencing, prosecutors urged an immediate jail term.
asserted
prosecutors → urge → term
Police prosecutor Carl Logan said the 26-year-old, who appeared via video link from Casuarina Prison, was naked in the vicinity of women and children, and had threatened to kill a bystander with scissors taken from the ambulance.
asserted
who → say → ambulance
Sergeant Logan said Parfitt had a lengthy criminal record, with the attack coming four months after his release from prison on other charges and causing $4,000 damage to the ambulance.
asserted
attack → say → ambulance
The court heard he had failed to engage with rehabilitation programs and represented a high risk of future offending.
asserted
he → hear → offending
Defence points to family support
Defence lawyer Leneva Polmear submitted a letter from Parfitt's Perth-based father, describing his pride in his son's efforts to turn his life around.
Ms Polmear said the family had made arrangements with a metropolitan crisis support service to ensure Parfitt had access to appropriate help.
asserted
Parfitt → submit → help
Sentencing Parfitt, Magistrate Donna Webb said she had only been willing to consider a non-custodial sentence if the 26-year-old's father was willing to take him in.
asserted
father → sentence → him
She told the court she was also required to factor in Parfitt's significant mental health issues and the 261 days he had already spent in custody.
asserted
he → tell → custody
Describing the 13-month suspended prison term as a likely "last chance", she said Parfitt would need to do everything right to avoid further time in custody.
asserted
Parfitt → describe → custody
Magistrate Webb urged the 26-year-old to remain in Perth after his release from prison.
asserted
Webb → urge → prison
"Kalgoorlie seems to be a trap for you," she said.
asserted
she → seem → you
Attacks on paramedics rising
Parfitt's offending came amid a significant rise in attacks on paramedics across Western Australia, with incidents rising 11.9 per cent in 2025.
asserted
incidents → rise → 2025
"I have three young children at home and I feared for my life whilst I was on that job," she said at the launch of a campaign to tackle violence against paramedics.
"
asserted
she → have → paramedics
She described the incident as the most traumatic moment of her life.
asserted
She → describe → life