Man in attack on police
DEFENDANT ASSAULTED OFFICERS AFTER ONE OF THEM ACCIDENTALLY KICKED HIS DOG
A MAN attacked two police officers after one of them accidentally kicked his dog.
The men were assaulted during a call out to Andrew Marshall’s home in Bradley, a court heard.
The 53-year-old said he lashed out because it upset him to hear his beloved pet yelping in pain.
He pleaded guilty to two charges of assault by beating of an emergency worker.
Samuel Poniah, prosecuting, said that the officers went to Marshall’s Meadow Croft address at around 10pm on August 31.
They knocked at the door and shouted at him to let them in when he failed to initially respond.
Mr Poniah told Kirklees magistrates: “They found the defendant in drink and asked him to put on his shoes to speak to them.
“The officer whilst doing that accidentally kicked the defendant’s dog.
“This led to [Marshall] becoming upset and uncooperative with the officers.
“He shouted at them and kicked his feet to get the officers off him, hitting both of them.”
Marshall was eventually detained and arrested. The court was told he had a previous conviction for assaulting a PC dating back to 2009.
Fazaila Kauser, mitigating, said that on the day her client had been out drinking at The Bridge pub in Longroyd Bridge before returning home.
He was asleep in bed and didn’t hear police when they initially arrived but then opened the door to let them inside.
Ms Kauser said: “He asked them to pass him his shoes and, as one of the officers went for the shoes, the dog was kicked.
“The dog was yelping, that really upset him and words were exchanged.
“As he was upset he kicked out on a reckless basis.
“Had the dog not been kicked he wouldn’t have been in this state.”
Magistrates were told that Marshall suffers from posttraumatic stress disorder and is not currently working.
Ms Kauser added: “He apologises for what he’s done and appreciates the seriousness of the offences.
“But the dog means a lot to him and when his dog was in pain that upset him in the manner it did and he’s sorry for that.”
Magistrates said they took into account the fact that Marshall was provoked.
They fined him £100 and ordered him to pay £32 victim surcharge.