Portsmouth man jailed for claiming he had Covid-19 as he spat at police officers
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Ryan Dean, 26, of Elm Grove, assaulted a male officer and two female officers as they responded to an incident in Elm Grove on Sunday, November 1.
During the assault on the police, Mr Dean also made disparaging remarks about their sexuality, court records show.
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Hide AdIt followed the Southsea resident stealing four cans of beer from the Tesco store in Elm Grove.
On Tuesday, Mr Dean appeared at Portsmouth Magistrates Court where he pleaded guilty theft and three charges of assaulting an emergency worker.
He was jailed for 36 weeks.
He was also ordered to pay PC Vitorrio Manetti and PC Amelia Byrne £200 compensation each, and PC Charlene Roberts £300.
Dean also breached prior court orders requiring him to undertake unpaid work and fulfil a rehabilitatory requirement, with the orders being made after a driving offence in September 2019.
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Hide AdThe sentence ‘should serve as a warning’ to those who use the virus like a weapon against others, assistant chief constable Maggie Blyth said.
She added: ‘We are in the midst of a national health emergency and officers are doing everything they can to limit the spread of infection, protect their NHS colleagues and help save lives.
‘It is completely unacceptable that people are using this virus as a weapon in these extremely challenging times. Not only is this vile behaviour, but it causes a huge personal impact on those officers and their families too.
‘This sentence should serve as a warning to anyone who thinks it is acceptable to cough and spit at police officers, or anyone else responding to this crisis. You will be arrested and you will face the consequences of your actions.’
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Hide AdLast month, The News revealed that Hampshire police officers have been spat at more than 115 times during the coronavirus pandemic.
Hampshire’s chief constable said the ‘vile’ threat of using Covid-19 as a weapon was becoming an everyday occurrence.
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