This is the shocking moment a thug punched a cop in the face during a riot and landed himself with a three year jail sentence.
Derek Drummond, 58, was part of violent disorder in Southport on July 30 following the fatal knife attack on three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club.
He was one of three men to be jailed at Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday - alongside Declan Geiran and Liam James Riley who were sentenced to 30 months and 20 months in prison respectively after also admitting violent disorder following riots in Liverpool city centre.
Drummond pleaded guilty to violent disorder and assaulting an emergency worker.
The court heard bodyworn footage of Pc Thomas Ball showed the defendant approach the riot cordon line and say “s***houses, s***houses”.
Drummond was told to go back and he then punched Pc Ball in the face.
Following a public appeal the defendant handed himself into police and said he was “a fool”.
The bodyworn footage of the attack on the officer has since been released by police.
Commenting on the sentences for the trio, senior district crown prosecutor Jonathan Egan said: “The three men sentenced today are the tip of the iceberg, and just the start of what will be a very painful process for many who foolishly chose to involve themselves in violent unrest. Many of those involved will be sent to prison for a long time.”
Assistant Chief Constable Paul White, of Merseyside Police, said: “Drummond took to the streets of a town still reeling from the devastating news that three young children had been killed at a dance class.
“He engaged in destructive and threatening behaviour that inflicted fear and destruction on an area grieving and in shock.
“We deployed police officers to the area to protect the public. They showed immense courage in the face of terrible aggression, and Drummond chose to assault them.
“These were officers whose colleagues had just a day earlier faced unspeakably tragic scenes on Hart Street as they tended to victims and detained a man later charged with murdering three children.
“Drummond’s disgusting behaviour that day has got him exactly where he belongs - in a prison cell.
“He has deprived himself of his liberty and left his family counting the cost of his actions.”
