Officers hurt at care unit
AGGRESSIVE PATIENT HAD DRUNK ALCOHOL
Reporter A PATIENT assaulted three police officers after alcohol was smuggled into a care home for people with mental health problems in Stanley, a court heard.
George Longstaff, of Lanchester Road, pleaded guilty to one count of resisting arrest and three charges of assaulting a police officer at Peterlee Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.
The 55-year-old assaulted police officers called out by staff at the home following an incident in January.
Prosecuting, John Garside, said staff at the Croft Unit in Stanley – a home for people with learning difficulties and mental health problems – had called police three times on the night of January 17.
He said: “He was aggressive and disruptive and had been drinking.
“When the police arrived he took an aggressive boxing stance and said he wasn’t going and tried to headbutt one officer. One police officer tried to control the defendant and used incapacitating spray.
“This had limited effect as he continued to kick out from the floor.”
The court heard that Longstaff swore at police officers and said: “I will kill you”.
After he was controlled and taken to the police station, all four police officers were left with injuries, Mr Garside said. Jaxon Taylor, mitigating, said it wasn’t Longstaff who smuggled the booze into the home.
“He has got some alcohol and it is fair to say he doesn’t react well to alcohol and so the police were called on more than one occasion.”
Mr Taylor said that Longstaff had an injured hand which was hurting as police tried to handcuff him, which led him to lash out. The court was told there was little the probation service could do to work with Longstaff because of his mental health issues.
Bench chairman Colin Beadle ordered Longstaff to pay £50 in compensation to the three police officers he assaulted.
“Because of your mental health problems we have decided to come outside of our sentencing guidelines and deal with your case in the way of compensation,” he said.
Last month the Croft Unit was branded “inadequate” by the Care Quality Commission, who noted how frequently the police had been called out to the centre.
Acting Chief Insp Kelly Martin of Durham Constabulary said: “We worked closely with the Croft Unit to address several issues in the care home that were putting increased demand on to the police.
“We worked with staff, management and owners using a problemsolving approach to increase their skills in dealing with challenging behaviours and dealing with them at an appropriate level.
“We hope to continue our work with the staff at the Croft Unit in the future to ensure they can give the appropriate care to the residents and police time isn’t being used unnecessarily.”