Two men who attacked a police officer, leaving him with horrific injuries, have been granted bail… by police!

At about 2.20am on Sunday, officers were in an unmarked police car leaving a crime scene in Sydney’s west.

Two men crossed Mulgoa Road at Penrith in front of the vehicle and were beeped by officers as a warning.

One of the men standing on the road allegedly ran at the unmarked car and started kicking the door.

The driver, a male sergeant, attempted to arrest the 22-year-old but was allegedly headbutted by an older man and punched in the face.

He suffered a significant gash to his mouth along with other facial injuries.

Two senior constables and other police jumped in to help and managed to arrest the men with the help of capsicum spray.

The 26-year-old man is facing multiple charges, including assaulting police, causing grievous bodily harm to police, resisting arrest, damaging property and affray.

The younger man was also charged with assaulting police, resisting an officer and affray.

And yet, somehow, both men have been granted bail.

Not by a magistrate, but by a bail sergeant at Penrith Police Station.

The two men will be free to walk the streets until their court appearance on February 26.

NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller tells Ray Hadley he’s frustrated by the decision.

“We’ve invested so much in getting positive changes to the bail act, and people like yourself drove those changes.

“We’ve done a lot of training, we’ve got a bail assistance tool that’s supposed to be there to help us.

“And of course, we’re not going to get every one right but in the last six months there have been too many that I think we should have refused bail.”

Click PLAY below to hear the full interview