Man spits blood in police officer’s eye as she arrests him
This the vile moment a man spits blood in a police officer’s eye at the height of the UK’s pandemic.
Temisan Oritsejafor, 41, launched the attack on PC Annie Napier as she arrested him for assaulting a neighbour.
Officers were called to his flat in Coventry on April 18 – when the UK recorded 888 deaths in 24 hours – after Oritsejafor became abusive towards a neighbour.
During the incident, he suffered a bloody nose and while he was being arrested he spat in PC Napier’s face.
Oritsejafor was on bail at the time for a previous assault on a police officer, a court heard.
Visit our live blog for the latest updates: Coronavirus news live
He admitted common assault and two charges of common assault on emergency workers, and was today jailed for eight months.
Playing bodycam footage of the incident in court, prosecutor Mark Phillips said PC Napier was left ‘clearly upset’ and ‘shaken’ by the spit attack.
PC Napier, who tested negative for coronavirus, said: ‘As frontline officers, we know that we put ourselves in potential danger, but we now face the added risk of Covid-19 infection which then also puts our families at risk.
‘It’s a shock when someone spits in your face and very unpleasant, so I’m pleased the force and the courts take these assaults so seriously.’
Superintendent Jenny Skryme added: ‘It is vulgar and unacceptable to spit at anybody, but even more so a key worker who is putting themselves at risk to keep people safe and catch criminals.
‘Our officers are bravely and repeatedly on the frontline despite the understandable safety concerns across the country.
‘This type of assault on our staff is deplorable and shouldn’t, and won’t be, tolerated.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.