A police officer kicked in the face by a Melbourne teenager in a “violent and cowardly assault” has told a court how he hated being a “poster boy” in the political war over African youth crime.

The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, avoided conviction and further time in detention after he admitted to attacking the officer at Highpoint Shopping Centre in Melbourne’s west on Boxing Day last year.

A Children’s Court magistrate sentenced the teenager in January to a nine-month probation order after factoring in the 30 days he had already spent in youth detention.

A County Court judge is hearing an appeal by the prosecution against the teenager’s sentence for intentionally causing injury.

The officer, who the ABC has chosen not to identify at the request of the police union, told the appeal he could have lost his sight after the blow came “literally half a centimetre” from his eye.

The Senior Constable was kneeling down to arrest another teenager for shoplifting when he was attacked “in a manner akin to a soccer kick” the appeal heard.

Officer resents being drawn into political debate

The officer told the hearing he felt let down by the justice system.

“I felt empty, there was no justice for me, he was going to get away with it,” he said.

“The incident could have ruined my life.”

The teenager is of African appearance and the officer said he resented being drawn into the political debate about African youth crime.

“I hated being the face of Victoria Police or a ‘poster boy’ for this war against the ongoing issues of African youth crime,” he said.

The officer’s wife, who is also a police officer, told the hearing her “body was in shut down” after hearing the attack play out on police radio.

Highpoint shopping centre is popular. Photo: AAP

“I just couldn’t help but fear the worst,” she said.

“I thought our lives had altered forever.”

She said her husband came very close to losing part of his sight and his policing career.

“Had the kick been half a centimetre closer to Michael’s eyeball he would have lost part of his vision, making him unable to perform as a police officer.”

She said the attack thrust her husband into the middle of a political debate.

We had felt let down and used by a majority of parties as they paraded on TV setting their own political agenda.”

-ABC