Patient flung racial abuse at ward staff
A PSYCHIATRIC patient at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital racially abused members of staff and police who attended the scene.
On one occasion Keiron Gillard, 28, became aggressive and armed himself with a fork, causing all the patients in the ward to be evacuated.
On another occasion he called a doctor “a n ***** ” and in a third offence racially abused a Muslim police officer and spat in his face.
Sentencing at a hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Tuesday, Judge David Wynn Morgan said: “It was the most appalling piece of behaviour imaginable, directed towards professional people who were trying to assist you.
“Your language and behaviour towards them were contemptible.”
The court heard Gillard went missing at the Ynysmaerdy hospital on November 14 last year but he was found in a “makeshift den”.
When support worker Gareth Evans noticed a fork was missing and asked the defendant where it was, he responded “F*** off, you’re not having the fork. You come near me and I will stab you”.
He added: “Bring the armed police, f*** them all, I will kill them all.”
Prosecutor Emma Harris told the court that Gillard kicked a memorial bench in the outside smoking area, which caused the arm to break off, and used it to hit a window.
When a doctor came to assist, the defendant made a number of racist comments and told staff he wanted a “lighterskinned doctor”.
Gillard was arrested but returned to the hospital at 1.30am on November 15. But 20 minutes later the police were called again after he had become aggressive.
He made more racist comments to another doctor and called them a “P***” and threw a drink at another member of staff in an attempt to goad him into fighting.
When the police arrived, he asked an officer if he was Muslim and after he confirmed he was, Gillard spat in his face and said “Get that P*** hand off my head, f*** off, you Arab-looking c***”.
Gillard, of HMP Cardiff, later pleaded guilty to three counts of affray, racially aggravated assault by beating, racially aggravated harassment and criminal damage.
The court heard the defendant had a number of previous convictions including battery, possession of offensive weapons, arson, affray and criminal damage.
Defence barrister Helen Randall said her client was a psychiatric in-patient at the time of the offence. However, she admitted he was not suffering from an episode of mental ill-health at the time of the offences. She submitted his early guilty plea as mitigation.
Gillard was sentenced to a total of 18 months’ imprisonment.