Man jailed for spitting at police officer in Telford
A man has been jailed for six weeks after spitting at a police constable.
Liam Thomas, aged 42, of King Street, Dawley, pleaded guilty to a charge of assaulting an emergency worker in Telford on Wednesday, October 4, 2023.
When Telford Magistrates Court sat on Thursday, November 2, the justices decided that spitting is a 'high culpability' act because of the fear that a disease could be transmitted.
Court records reveal that they would ordinarily have sentenced Thomas to 28 days but it was "further aggravated by this being an emergency worker offence and the sentence is uplifted by 14 days".
The reasons given for an immediate custodial sentence included that "spitting is a high culpability due to fear of disease transmission".
And the magistrates told Thomas that the "offence is aggravated by your record and that it was an offence upon an emergency worker."
As well as handing down the 42 days imprisonment, magistrates also ordered Thomas to pay his victim, a Pc Morgan, £150 in compensation.
He was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £100.
The court also heard that Thomas had been under a community protection notice when he assaulted the PC.
Thomas changed his plea to guilty and admitted failing to comply with a community protection notice.
The community protection notice orders Thomas that he must not behave in any way that causes or is likely to cause any person harassment alarm or distress including behaving in an aggressive, threatening, intimidating way.
No separate penalty was handed out for failing to comply.
