A Welshpool teenager said she was "disgusted" by her own drunken behaviour after she bit, kicked and pushed three police officers as they tried to put her in a police van, a court heard.
Josie Gough, 19, said she could not remember assaulting the officers during the incident outside the Pheasant Inn in Welshpool on Saturday, May 14, which resulted in one of the officers being taken to hospital.
CCTV footage shown in court showed Gough running “as hard as she can” into one of the officer’s back after police were called to a report that several people had been fighting outside the pub. Other officers were kneed to the face and bitten in the leg.
Appearing at Welshpool Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (July 27), Gough was handed a 12-month community order and ordered to do 250 hours unpaid work after pleading guilty to three counts of assaulting an emergency worker and a separate charge of drug driving on February 11.
Prosecutor Rhian Jackson said 15-stone police officer Cen Harris was knocked a few feet forward by the force of the push.
“She tried to wrap her legs around the officer and tried to stop going into the police vehicle," she said. "She was shouting ‘I’ve done nothing’. She ignored the officers’ request to stand up but she shouted ‘get off me’ and kicked her legs out.
"The cage was opened, and Gough was informed she was going to be lifted. She tensed up and kicked out repeatedly at force which hit PC Harris in the face. He felt pain and numbness then saw blood dripping from his nose. She cried ‘don’t let them take me’ to her mother and she was still kicking out.
“PC Harris attended A&E because he was concerned that his nose was broken. He suffered a cut to his nose and the left side of his neck was sore for three days as result by his head being twisted by the kick.
“Gough ran into the officer as hard as she can and used her forearms.”
PC Bob Beaman said he was kneed in the right eye socket which was “momentarily extremely painful”. PC Keifer Hewitt said he realised he had been bitten in the leg when he felt a sharp pain and saw Gough’s head near his leg. Gough was placed into the police van and throughout the journey to Newtown Police Station she kicked and headbutted the interior cell of the vehicle.
Robert Hanratty, acting for Gough, told the court: “The apology she gave during a police interview was heartfelt and showed genuine remorse. There was absolutely no hesitation for taking responsibility for her behaviour.
"She was in a state of high excitement that night and has very little recollection of the incident. Her mother, who was there, had never seen her daughter like that. The family are not sure how she got into such a condition. She is genuinely remorseful.”
In a pre-sentence report read in court by probation officer Julian Davies, Gough said had suffered the “worst year of her life”, and turned to alcohol to cope. She had drunk five vodka, lime and lemonades at the Pheasant.
“Miss Gough said she is disgusted by her behaviour from what she saw on CCTV and is deeply remorseful for what she’d done to the police officers," Mr Davies said, adding that she had now returned to live with her parents, got a factory job, and replaced alcohol with cannabis which she says helps tackle her anxiety.
The court was told that Gough had no previous convictions but was cautioned for an assault on a police officer which involved being under the influence of alcohol in July 2020.
The officers were each awarded £150 compensation.
Gough was also disqualified from driving for 12 months and fined £83 for a separate charge of driving an Audi A3 in Newtown while under the influence of cannabis on February 11, which she admitted in court.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here