Sunderland man fined after being abusive to police officers

Dexter Ferguson, 49, stuck up his middle finger and swore at officers as they drove past him in a street.

He repeated the actions when they turned their vehicle around in the city centre’s Borough Road – and was subsequently arrested.

Ferguson, of Tower Street, Hendon, believed the officers were deliberately provoking him due to his history of being on their radar, his defence solicitor claimed.

But Robin Ford said his client’s actions remained “stupid” and he should not have got himself involved in the incident on Sunday, October 27.

At South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court, Ferguson pleaded guilty to a charge of being drunk and disorderly in public.

Prosecutor Holly Clegg said: “Officers were driving on Borough Road when they saw the defendant stick his middle finger up at them and swear.

“They turned around and the defendant continued to stick his finger up and swear.

“His eyes were glazed, he was unsteady on his feet, he smelled of intoxicating liquor and his speech was slurred.

“An officer arrested the defendant after he continued to swear. He was put in the police vehicle where he continued to be abusive.

“He was last in court in December 2022 for a racially related offence and was given a community order.”

Mr Ford told magistrates: “Mr Ferguson, if you look at his antecedent history, has had a chequered past with Northumbria Police in the Sunderland area.

“He felt that he was minding his own business and felt that the police had been driving past and winding him up.

“He responded in the way he did, he just lost his temper because he’d had a bit to drink. It was a night in the cells and a night sobering up.

“It shouldn’t have happened, and he knows that. He pleads guilty for his stupid actions on that particular day. This was a blip.”

Magistrates fined Ferguson £80, with £85 court costs and a £32 victim surcharge.