Coronavirus: Hull man jailed for coughing in police officer's face

Jason Clark pleaded guilty to two charges of assaulting emergency workers at Hull Magistrates' Court

A man has been jailed for coughing in the face of a police officer and claiming he had coronavirus.

Jason Clark, 39, was stopped by police after he was seen swearing in a Hull street on 8 April.

Clark became abusive and coughed over a PCSO, saying he had Covid-19, and then tried to grab the throat of another officer, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

He was jailed for six months at Hull Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.

Clark, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to two charges of assaulting emergency workers.

Gerry Wareham from the CPS said he hoped Clark's sentence would act as an warning to "anyone else contemplating acting in such an anti-social manner".

"Deliberately coughing in the face of a police officer in the current climate is both dangerous and despicable," he said.

"This type of behaviour is completely unacceptable, especially when it is targeted at emergency workers who are carrying out their duties in the most challenging of circumstances."

Humberside Police said they arrested another man in Hull city centre for spitting on two officers.

Police tweeted they were called on Thursday after a man was seen carrying out an indecent act in public.

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