Hemel Hempstead woman jailed for spitting in police officer's face

A 42-year-old woman has been sent to prison for three months for spitting at a police officer in Hemel Hempstead.

Marcia Massey, of Hatfield Crescent, Hemel Hempstead, appeared at Luton Crown Court yesterday (Thursday, March 18), where she was sentenced to three months imprisonment.

She had previously pleaded guilty to one count of assaulting a police constable at an earlier hearing on Thursday, December 3, last year.

The court heard how police were called to a disturbance at Massey’s home address on the evening of Saturday, June 20, last year.

On arrival, Massey exited the address and began behaving aggressively. While officers were detaining her, the defendant proceeded to spit in the face of a female police constable.

Chief Superintendent Richard Liversidge, who leads the Local Policing Command, said: “Spitting in someone’s face is abhorrent behaviour in any context, let alone during a global pandemic.

"The affected officer is a student constable and was understandably shocked when she realised what Massey had done.

“Our teams have been working hard on the frontline since the start of this pandemic, prioritising public safety above their own and delivering a full police service in the most challenging circumstances.

"I am incredibly proud of them and the resilience they show every day over what has been a challenging twelve months.

“It is never acceptable for police officers, staff or any other emergency worker to be assaulted while performing their duties, so I am pleased to see the offender in this case receive a custodial sentence.

"Such behaviour will not be tolerated and we will not hesitate to take immediate action against anyone who behaves in this manner.”