A man who assaulted a police officer and a paramedic on the day he was released from prison for the same offence was sentenced to spend 12 weeks in prison when he appeared at Guildford Magistrates’ Court on Saturday (16 December).
Callum Parker, 38, of Brighton Road, Redhill, pleaded guilty to two counts of assault by beating an emergency services worker, one count of assault by beating and one count of being drunk and disorderly after he was arrested in Staines-upon-Thames on Thursday (14 December). He was also ordered to pay £50 compensation.
The court heard that a call was made to police reporting that Parker was behaving aggressively to members of the public in Staines High Street. When police arrived, it was clear that Parker, who had been released from prison on licence that day for assaulting an emergency worker, was severely intoxicated due to his slurred speech, smell, and staggering. There were also smashed bottles of vodka nearby.
An ambulance was called as a precaution after witnesses reported that Parker had fallen and hit his head. It was also reported that Parker had taken a quantity of pills, but it was not known how many or what they were.
Parker was extremely agitated when officers arrived and was arrested on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly after lashing out while paramedics were trying to check him over.
He was also arrested for two counts of assaulting an emergency services worker after assaulting a police officer while he was being arrested and kicking a paramedic while he was being escorted into the ambulance.
He was further arrested for assaulting a member of the public who had tried to help him prior to police being called.
Investigating officer Sharif 16737 said: “Assaults on emergency workers when they are just trying to do their job simply will not be tolerated. Being intoxicated is also no excuse. Parker had also been released from prison that day for exactly the same offence.
"The fact that this was dealt with so quickly and that he is back in prison reflects how seriously this is taken and I hope that being given a prison sentence will make him stop and think about the consequences of his actions.”
SECAmb Security Manager, Dave Monk, said: “We welcome the swift actions by our police colleagues in ensuring this individual was held accountable for his actions and returned to prison. It is never acceptable that our staff face abuse and violence when they are at work. My colleagues come to work to serve their communities and help people. While it may be a small minority of people who act in this way, actions such as this can have a lasting effect. We will continue to do everything we can to ensure anyone who threatens or harms our staff in any way will be prosecuted.”