Sunderland mum punched police officer in the face after being told 'we're not a taxi service'

A drunken mum fearing harm from passing harassing male motorists sought safety in arrest by punching a police officer in the face.

Gemma McCabe, 35, took the bizarre decision to attack after being found acting erratically in booze in Durham Road by patrolling officers.

Heavily convicted McCabe, of St Lukes Road, Ford Estate, Sunderland, lashed out after police told her they were not a taxi service, a court heard.

After her arrest, she inquired of another PC who helped take her into custody, “I’ve said sorry to her (the officer who was punched). Do you think I’ll go to jail for this?”

Magistrates in South Tyneside did not go down that path and sentenced the former jailbird to a nine-month community order, with 15 rehabilitation days.

They also ordered her to pay her victim £100 compensation and fined her £120, with a £114 victim surcharge and £85 court costs.

Prosecutor Daniel Hill said police were alerted to McCabe after a report of a woman lying in the road at 9.20pm on Saturday, September 9.

He added: “Police have been requested to attend. An officer will state that he was with the victim, due to concerns for the defendant.

“The officers located her in the middle of the road, holding her hands in the air. Due to concerns, they have approached.

“The defendant threw herself to the ground. The officers attempted to help her for her own safety.

“She has become erratic and she swore, and she smelled of intoxicants, was unsteady on her feet and clearly drunk. She was arrested for being drunk and disorderly.

“When handcuffs were applied, she started to resist and broke free and punched her victim in the face.

“As a result, she was taken to the ground and handcuffs applied. The officer suffered swelling and bruising to her lips.”

McCabe pleaded guilty to assault by beating of an emergency worker and being drunk and disorderly.

She has 29 previous convictions from 56 offences, the last in 2020, and has served a jail term, it was said.

Alastair Naismith, defending, said: “Twenty-nine convictions from 56 offences but nothing of this type on her record.

“She explains that she had been out and was on her way home and that she was being followed by a number of males in cars, and sought help.

“She asked the police if they could help her to get home and was told that they were not a taxi service.

“She thought that to be safe she had to be arrested. She punched the officer in the face.

“Her thinking was that she had to get somewhere safe, but this was not the way to do it.”