Community order for police assault
A lorry driver assaulted a police officer after being caught using a mobile phone while driving, a court heard.
Phillip Parr ‘lashed out’ at PC Shaw who spotted him on the phone while travelling in a heavy goods vehicle on the A14 in the Rougham area.
The 55-year-old, of Fenland View, Sedge Fen, Brandon, admitted assaulting and resisting the officer as well as using a hand held mobile while driving when he appeared at West Suffolk Magistrates’ Court on Friday.
Prosecuting, Sarah-Jane Atkins told the court that Parr was seen by PC Shaw using his mobile at about 2.15pm on December 12 and ‘started to become aggressive’ when the officer spoke to him.
She said: “He threw his driving licence at the officer and continued to get more agitated. He got out of his cab, started coming towards the officer and used his right fist to punch the officer to the left cheek followed by a further punch to his upper body and continued to use force on him.”
The officer’s colleague used a spray to gain control of Parr, who ‘resisted attempts to put handcuffs on him’.
Ian Fisher, in mitigation, said Parr did not accept that he formed his hand into a fist and threw ‘deliberate full blooded punches at the officer’.
When interviewed by police, he accepted pushing the officer twice.
Mr Fisher said that Parr answered a call from another lorry driver thinking it might be the chance of some work as he was ‘concerned about work drying up at this time of year’.
The court heard that Parr was worried about his work, his partner had received a letter indicating she was being made redundant and his daughter was ill.
Mr Fisher said: “He just lost his self control and lashed out. It was a moment of madness.”
He desribed Parr as a ‘man who is extremely well thought of and gives many hours of service a year to the local community’.
For driving while using a mobile phone, Parr’s licence was endorsed with three penalty points and he was fined £350.
For assaulting the officer and resisting arrest, he was given a community order for one year with 150 hours unpaid work and was ordered to pay £100 compensation, £85 costs and £60 victim surcharge.
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Monday 20 May 2013
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