A yob spat on an officer's face after he turned aggressive while being arrested at his Northumberland home.
Police were forced to restrain Christian Armstrong and carry him to a van as he was being detained for an unrelated matter in the early one morning in March. However, when they gave the 29-year-old the chance to calm down and walk to the vehicle, his behaviour escalated further.
A court heard that Armstrong said "You can't stop this" before spitting in an officer's face, hitting him on the cheek. The assault prompted the yob to be restrained again, this time also being placed in a spit hood, as he was transported to a police station.
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The violent outburst has now hit Armstrong, of Lake View, in Hadston, near Amble, in the pocket after he pleaded guilty to assaulting an emergency worker and was fined £175. Chairing magistrate, Eric Lawrence, said: "This was totally unnecessary and pretty foul - it's not something we can tolerate at all."
South East Northumberland Magistrates' Court was told that police attended Armstrong's address at 1.40am on March 31 this year for an unrelated matter and he was arrested after turning aggressive towards officers.
Prosecutor, Niamh Reading, continued: "During this arrest, the defendant acted aggressively and it resulted in him being restrained on the floor with handcuffs. Officers carried the defendant from his address into a communal hallway and down to the ground floor.
"While on the ground floor, the defendant was given the opportunity to walk. He was stood back up and back on his feet. An officer heard him say "You can't stop this". The defendant then spat at the officer's face, hitting him on the left cheek."
Magistrates were told that Armstrong, who has one past conviction for attempted robbery in 2017, made no comment in interview.
Glenn Reardon, defending, said Armstrong had pleaded guilty and was genuinely remorseful for his actions. Mr Reardon added: "He had suffered from a number of seizures that week. The reality is he's got little recollection of what happened because of those incidents of fits."
Armstrong was also ordered to pay £75 compensation to the officer, £51 costs and a £34 victim surcharge.
