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Woman who exhaled on police officer after claiming to have coronavirus admits assault

Police officers close a car park in Whitley Bay, Northumberland, as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. (Photo by Owen Humphreys/PA Images via Getty Images)
The woman attacked a police officer (not pictured) in Huddersfield (Picture: Getty)

A woman has pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer after exhaling on them and claiming to have coronavirus.

The incident involving the 37-year-old woman occurred in Huddersfield in the early hours of Thursday.

Police responded to a disturbance in Fartown and found a suspect who became abusive towards them.

She was arrested for being drunk and disorderly, but while she was being detained she exhaled towards an officer and claimed to have coronavirus.

The woman was then further arrested for assaulting an emergency worker.

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She has been remanded into custody after pleading guilty on Friday and is due to be sentenced at Leeds Crown Court on a date yet to be decided.

Kirklees Detective Superintendent, Jim Griffiths said: “Given the particularly challenging circumstances all emergency services are facing amid the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak, it is utterly incomprehensible that they would be treated in this way.

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“Irrespective of the fact that this individual has chosen to use Coronavirus as the means to assault our colleague, this is a subject which we have campaigned long and hard over.

“It led to the introduction of the Assaults on Emergency Workers Act in 2018 and we will continue to use these powers against anyone who attempts to use such tactics against the very people who are trying to protect them.

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DSI Griffiths added: “The message is clear, we will not tolerate this behaviour from the minority and the criminal justice system will take a dim view of those who take advantage of the virus for their own benefit.

“Clearly this has been particularly distressing for the officer concerned and we are providing the necessary support.

“It has not yet, however, been ascertained if the woman arrested was suffering from COVID-19.”