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26
Jul
Man fined for kicking police officer in the face in Harrogate
The Stray Ferret spent the morning at Harrogate Magistrates Court on Thursday (July 24).
We sat through all the hearings, which included two cases of assaulting emergency workers.
You can read reports on both cases below.
Jake Ward, of Midgley Court in Wakefield, pleaded guilty to one offence of assaulting an emergency worker by beating.
Sarah Tyrer, prosecuting, told the court police received a report about an incident at a campsite at Harrogate Rugby Union Football Club at around 9pm on July 9.
When the two officers arrived, the member of public who called the police directed them towards Ward.
Officers approached Ward, who was visibly intoxicated and unsteady on his feet, but he refused to engage with them and identify himself.
The court heard Ward’s behaviour was described as “up and down", and he became irate when police tried to separate him from someone else at the campsite.
Ms Tyrer said a named officer then sprayed Ward with PAVA spray – a synthetic pepper spray used by police forces – to try and calm him down.
As the named officer tried to handcuff Ward, 29, the defendant “kicked him in the face”.
Other officers then arrived as the named constable had called for back-up due to Ward’s behaviour.
Ward has one previous conviction for actual bodily harm.
Defendant ‘finds certain situations hard to cope with’
Brian Nuttney, defending, told the court Ward is very remorseful:
I asked him if he was remorseful. He said: ‘of course I’m remorseful – I’m very embarrassed'.
Ward had been drinking at the Great Yorkshire Show that day, but “something went wrong” later in the day.
“Emotions were high, and police were called”, Mr Nuttney said.
He told the magistrates Ward’s leg made contact with the officer’s face, not his foot, but he did not injure the officer.
Ward suffers with undiagnosed ADHD, the court heard, and finds “certain situations hard to cope with”.
It was a very brief incident and he did not intend to strike the officer. It was his instantaneous reaction.
Ward was fined a total of £813, comprising a £484 fine, a £194 surcharge, £50 in compensation for the officer and £85 in prosecution costs.
Woman admits assaulting two officers after drunken night out
Lauren Ilsley, of Walworth Avenue in Harrogate, pleaded guilty to two offences of assaulting an emergency worker by beating and one offence of being drunk and disorderly in a public place.
Prosecutor Sarah Tyrer told the court this is “a case of escalation”.
An argument broke out between Ilsley and someone else following a night out in Harrogate, and both people were standing on Parliament Street at the time.
Police officers got involved and wanted the pair to “have some time out”.
The other person, who was not named in court, was arrested after becoming agitated towards police.
The court heard this then upset Ilsley, 22, who “lashed out and pushed the female police officer” to try and get to the other party.
Ms Tyrer said Ilsley was then “pushed against a wall” by an officer to restrain her, but she got away and ran over to the back of the police car.
She was then restrained again and held against a window before being arrested.
When Ilsley was put in the back of the police vehicle, she “kicked out several times”.
She kicked one officer in the leg and another officer in the upper groin area, the court heard.
Ilsley made a full admission to the offences when she was interviewed by the police, telling officers the incident occurred as she had been drinking.
Ms Tyrer said:
The defendant accepted she did it but she told police it was because she was being arrested and said she did not intend to kick them.
The officers were simply trying to do their job in the early hours of the morning, the prosecution added.
‘There was a fair bit going on in her life at the time’
Andrew Coleman, defending, told the magistrates there was a “fair bit going on in Ms Ilsley’s life at the time” of the incident:
She ended a toxic relationship in the spring and lost her flat and her job. She let herself slip – she wasn’t in a good place.
Mr Coleman said Ilsley decided to go out that night but ended up getting too drunk and found herself in a “verbal altercation that escalated when the police got there”.
The officers were not injured in the assault, he added.
The court heard Ilsley did not try to argue with the conviction and told police she is ashamed of her behaviour.
However, Mr Coleman told the court things are now looking up for the defendant, as she has a job and stable accommodation.
“This is not someone who is likely to be before the courts again,” he said.
Ilsley was ordered to pay a £188 fine, £50 in compensation for each officer, a £75 surcharge and £85 in prosecution costs.
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