A boozed-up drunk had to be restrained with a spit hood after he spat blood at a police officer

An injured drunken man hit a police officer in the face with his bloody spit and racially abused another officer as they tried to help him.
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John Michael Barker, 50, was approached by police on Hambleton Avenue, at North Wingfield, Chesterfield, after they received a report that a man may have been assaulted and they alerted the ambulance service.

Prosecuting solicitor Robert Carr told a Chesterfield magistrates’ court hearing on March 13: “Mr Barker was agitated and swearing at one of the officers and he was told to calm down.

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“He couldn’t stand up and was unable to keep his balance and two officers helped him on to a stretcher and he had to go to hospital.”

Police.Police.
Police.

However, Mr Carr added that Barker became angry and was shouting and swearing at the paramedics and he lunged forward to punch one of them but missed as police restrained him.

As doctors tried to treat Barker at Chesterfield Royal Hospital he became apologetic but started shouting and was abusive again, according to Mr Carr.

Mr Carr added: “A police officer said he looked directly at him and the defendant spat at him and the spit was full of blood from a cut on his lip and it went on the officer’s face and his jacket.”

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Barker was restrained while he used a derogatory term for a homosexual towards the officer and threatened to hit him before a spit hood was placed over his head.

The officer who was spat at stated that he would rather have been punched and he had been left feeling physically sick.

A soon as the spit hood was removed, according to Mr Carr, Barker became threatening again and racially abused another police officer.

Barker told police during a subsequent interview that he recalled telling one officer to go back to Africa and he accepted he had spat blood but he had not intended for this to hit the other officer.

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The defendant, of Hambleton Avenue, North Wingfield, Chesterfield, pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer and to using racially aggravated threatening behaviour towards another officer after the incident on February 23.

Defence solicitor Kirsten Collins said Barker does not dispute the facts but he has little recollection because he was heavily intoxicated.

Magistrates adjourned the case until March 21 to consider a probation report and to allow Barker to be assessed for an Alcohol Treatment Requirement before sentencing.