Sergeant highlights officers’ concerns over spitting attacks

11 May 2020

A video highlighting the fears of a West Midlands Police officer during the coronavirus pandemic has been featured on Capital FM Midlands News.

Sergeant Gareth Spreadbury talks about the ‘frightening’ reality that front-line officers are facing during the crisis as members of the public use the threat of spitting or coughing COVID-19 onto them as a weapon.

The video has already had more than 1,000 views on the West Midlands Twitter feed and this comes after a previous interview with BBC West Midlands Today.
Sitting in his response car, talking to his camera, Gareth says: “Having officers shout for back-up when they are being potentially assaulted is hard at the best of times but even more so during COVID.

“When my officers were dealing with a male who was interfering with vehicles, he threated to spit at them and was telling them they would have COVID.

“There is a realistic possibility that if he spits at any of us and we catch COVID, in two weeks’ time we may go to the hospital and we may never get out. It’s frightening.”

Away from the Twitter video, Gareth added: “My job as a sergeant is looking after everyone’s safety and with COVID coming along I have to balance the needs of the public with the needs of my officers too.

“Spitting is something that we have always dealt with. I have been spat on multiple times, mainly on my feet and uniform. But with COVID, spitting is now a biological weapon. If someone else’s spit gets into our system, it could end up killing us so we have to tactically assess each situation even more than we would on a regular basis.

“People who threaten us with this want to put us on the back foot and fear for our own safety but I have to say that they are still a very small minority. I know that 99.9 per cent of the public have been fantastic and have been thanking us for what we are doing.”

Gareth’s message comes on the back of swift legislative guidance which allows courts to increase custodial sentences to those people who threaten officers with coughing and spitting.

A number of offenders have now been jailed for spitting or coughing at West Midlands officers while claiming to have COVID-19.

West Midlands Police Federation chair Jon Nott says threatening to cough or spit on anyone is an abhorrent act.

“These are worrying times for our members who are out on the frontline trying to police the lockdown and protect communities and the NHS from a deadly virus,” he explains.

“Threatening to spit or cough at an officer is a disgusting thing to do and it is not surprising they should be fearful of the consequences when someone stoops that low.

“Officers are human beings, many of which have families at home they are also trying to protect and keep safe in very testing times.

“Hopefully, guidance of tougher sentences will help deter anyone who is thinking of threatening our officers in such a way.”

Police Federation of England and Wales’ chair John Apter has added to those thoughts in an interview with Sky News and called for tougher sentences to be standard across the whole of the country.

He told Sky: “Nothing is worse than being coughed on or spat at by individuals who say they want to infect the officer or their family with this most contagious of viruses. It’s very scary.

“These are vile, disgusting creatures who are weaponising this virus by coughing or spitting at my officers who are trying their best in the most difficult circumstances.

“To add insult to injury, we are seeing a difference around the country of how they are being dealt with by the courts. Some are going to prison - which is where they should be - but some are just getting a slap on the wrists.

“We need the courts to show some consistency. I cannot describe the effect this has on officers. This is a vile act and this is a deadly virus. People deserve to spend time behind bars and reflect on their behaviour if they do this kind of thing.”