Sunderland man has to pay compensation after spitting phlegm and blood on officer at Newcastle police station

Thomas Brown, 35, of Villette Road, Hendon, must cough up £150 for a “disgusting” deed committed after his arrest on Tuesday, September 9. He was detained after stealing a £20 bottle of Whitley Neill Gin from retailer Morrisons at Cowgate, Newcastle, magistrates in South Tyneside heard.

Brown was taken into custody at Newcastle’s Forth Banks station where a search found him also in possession of a single unprescribed pregabalin tablet. Prosecutor Paul Doney said: “At 9am he entered Morrisons and picked up a bottle of gin which he concealed under his clothing.

“He made no attempt to pay for the gin and exited the store. An hour later, in the city’s Barrack Road, he was holding a bottle of Whitley gin. He was transported to Forth Banks and searched. A pill was found in a blister pack, and it was pregabalin.

“He was placed in a cell at 4.30pm and a wellness check was done. He spat phlegm and blood which landed on the officer’s arm. The gin was recovered but it couldn’t be resold as some was missing. There’s an application for compensation for that and for the officer.”

Brown, who has previous convictions, pleaded guilty to charges of assault by beating of an emergency worker, theft from a shop and possession of a prohibited drug. In a victim statement, the policeman said Brown’s phlegm had landed on his bare arm and described his actions as “disgusting”.

Paul McAlindon, defending, said: “The most serious offence is the attack on the emergency worker. He accepts that he spat but says that he didn’t mean to hit the officer. It was reckless. As for alcohol, it’s clearly right that he appears to have issues. As for drugs, clearly, he appears to have issues with that.

“What is clear is that Mr Brown is someone who has had issues for some time, drugs being one, alcohol another, and homelessness.”

Magistrates sentenced Brown to an 18-month community order, with a drug treatment order included in 25 rehabilitation days. They ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the tablet and for him to pay£20 compensation to Morrisons.