A violent thug who attacked three police officers at the same time while on bail for biting a fourth has been jailed.
Clinton Barnes sank his teeth into the arm of a PC at the height of the Covid outbreak, leaving him concerned about contracting disease. Then while awaiting the resolution of that case, he struck again.
A court heard he punched and strangled a male officer while simultaneously kicking his female colleague in the head and also caught another officer with a kick. Now Barnes, who already had six previous convictions for attacking police among the 90 offences on his record, has been locked up for 16 months at Newcastle Crown Court.
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The first offence happened at 6.15pm on July 9 2020 when officers were flagged down by a member of the public who was concerned about two men staggering around a nearby road. When approached and asked if he had anything on him, Barnes replied: "Everything. Pins, sharps, smack, crack".
He then refused to be searched and became aggressive and there was a struggle with the male and female officers in which they all ended up on the ground. Jane Foley, prosecuting, said: "The male officer's arm became lodged under the defendant and he felt pressure on his right arm and he knew he had been bitten. He noticed saliva on his forearm.
"The defendant was handcuffed but was still behaving aggressively and kicked backwards towards the officer, connecting with his shin." The PC suffered broken skin and swelling from the bite and was given antibiotics.
Miss Foley said: "He said being bitten and having another person's saliva on him was particularly unpleasant and during the Covid 19 outbreak was much worse."
Barnes initially denied that offence and was on bail awaiting a trial when he attacked three more officers on the evening of January 1 this year. Police attended Hetton-le-Hole after reports of men kicking at a door and saw Barnes holding an open bottle of wine and he became aggressive to officers but then ran off with another man.
About 90 minutes later, police were called back out after further reports of two men kicking a door and they saw Barnes trying to gain entry to a house and shouting through a letter box. He immediately became aggressive to the police and shouted threats and was told he would be arrested for being drunk and disorderly.
Barnes forcefully pushed a female officer backwards with both hands and her colleagues took him to the ground. He then punched one of the officers in the face, bursting his lip and grabbed his throat and tried to choke him, while threatening to spit at the officers.
Miss Foley said: "The defendant, while assaulting that officer, was simultaneously kicking out at (the female officer), making contact with her head on four or five occasions, causing her to feel dizzy. She noticed reddening to her forehead and she had a headache."
A third officer was also kicked but was not injured and Barnes pleaded guilty on the basis that was done recklessly. Barnes was sprayed with incapacitant spray and put in a spit hood before being taken to the police station.
The 39-year-old, of Caldew Court, Hetton-le-Hole, pleaded guilty to four counts of assaulting an emergency worker. Judge Edward Bindloss told him: "These were prolonged assaults with substantial force.
"In all four offences you were intoxicated and they were all doing their public duty, having been called to the scene by members of the public."
Fiona Lamb, defending, said Barnes has already served five-and-a-half months in custody on remand, which will count towards his sentence. She added that he wants to do an anger management course and other work in prison but has not had the chance to do so in prison due to covid restrictions.
Miss Lamb said: "He says he wants to change his life. He and his partner have moved to Hetton, away from Sunderland, where they used to live. He says there's a lot of trouble in Sunderland and he doesn't want to be part of it anymore."
The court heard he has anxiety and depression and has suffered family bereavements.
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