Suspected drink driver coughed on police officer and said he had coronavirus when arrested

Stefan Karmarzyn, 32, may have inflicted psychological distress on the officer after his arrest on suspicion of drink-driving in Sunderland South Tyneside Court heard.

Karmarzyn got behind the wheel of a Ford Focus after leaving Buzz bingo hall following an argument with his girlfriend.

The row came just hours after they had been to hospital to be told she had suffered a miscarriage with their first child on Friday, May 8, his defence solicitor told the court.

Karmarzyn, of Park Avenue, Wallsend, North Tyneside, was seen on the bingo hall’s CCTV wandering from the vehicle, and police were called.

Prosecutor Marc Atkins said Karmarzyn was located by officers at the rear of the hall, in Pallion New Road.

He added: “They noticed his eyes were glazed, and he was unsteady on his feet.

“They formed the opinion that he was drunk. The keys were found in his jacket pocket and they were for the vehicle.

“He was asked if he had any symptoms of coronavirus. At this point he looked at the officer and coughed in his face.

“He said, ‘Aye, I’ve got it’. He did not have the virus.”

Karen Minhas, defending at South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court, said: “The day in question is one he would like to put behind him.

“He had been with his partner and they had attended the hospital, and had been told of the miscarriage of their first child.

“There was a disagreement in the car which led to him being found behind the bingo hall.

“He accepts that he coughed in the officer’s face. He regrets this. His partner is pregnant again.”

Karmarzyn pleaded guilty to failing to provide a specimen for analysis and common assault of an emergency worker.

He was handed a 12-month community order, with a requirement of 28 days of rehabilitation work with the Probation Service.

Karmarzyn was also fined £384, with £85 costs and a £95 victim surcharge, and £100 compensation to the officer, and banned from driving for 20 months.

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