Man jailed after hospital abuse and officer assaults

A man has been jailed for more than eight months for assaulting police officers who took him to hospital for treatment.

North Yorkshire Police officers were called to the Co-op supermarket in Colburn on the evening of Wednesday 22 February 2023.

A man, Lee Alderson, 32, from Scotton, had fallen and hit his head while stealing items from the shop, and was behaving aggressively towards members of the public. He was arrested, but kicked an officer in the chest as he was being placed in a police vehicle.

Due to the head injury sustained from falling in the shop before police arrived, the officers took Alderson to hospital in Darlington. On arrival, he continued to behave aggressively, shouting and swearing at members of the public and medical staff. While waiting for a nurse to check him over, he spat in the face of a police officer. The following day he also abused a health care professional while in custody in Harrogate Police Station.

Alderson was charged, and at York Magistrates Court on 24 March he pleaded guilty to stealing from the shop, assaulting two emergency workers and using threatening language on two occasions.

He was sentenced to a total of 36 weeks in prison. Magistrates told Alderson the offence was aggravated by his record of previous offending, and because of his deliberate attacks on public servants carrying out public duties.

Following his release, he will be subject to a Community Behaviour Order which, among other provisions, requires him to attend a substance misuse recovery service, and to not have an open container of alcohol in any public place.

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said: “Assaults against police officers and staff will never be tolerated, and we have a robust process in place for investigating offences and bringing those responsible to justice.

“If you assault a police officer or any other emergency services worker, you will be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law, which will frequently end in a prison sentence. That’s how serious this offence is.”