'Painful kick' - Drunk South Tyneside woman fined £50 for assaulting police officer
A woman from Whitburn, who normally does not drink, has been fined for kicking a police officer during a drunken altercation.
A woman not used to alcohol has been ordered to pay compensation to a policeman she kicked while drunk and resisting arrest in Sunderland city centre.
Paula Leighton, 46, of Souter View, Whitburn, must fork out £50 for an assault which left no injury but which a judge said would have caused pain.
Leighton lashed out after boozing when she normally does not and after taking medication for mental health issues on Sunday, July 12, a court heard.
She caught the officer around his knee while grappling with him in Albion Place, prosecutor Yetunde Alake said.
At South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court, Leighton, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to a charge of assaulting a police officer in the execution of their duty
Mrs Alake added: “The officer says that he was double crewed and in the Sunderland area when tasked to attend Albion Place, where there were reports of an assault.
“He was given a description of suspects, and one was the defendant. The officer went to speak to the defendant who he described as being aggressive towards him.
“He tried to restrain the defendant by grabbing her hands to get an account of what happened, but she became more aggressive.
“The defendant kicked the officer on the leg by raising her right leg and kicked him by straightening a leg, catching him behind the knee.
“There is no injury described in the officer’s statement, but the crown would ask that compensation is considered.”
Michelle Stonley, defending, said Leighton was receiving professional help for mental health issues, adding: “She appears before the court for the first time at the age of 46.
“She had been on the day in question with friends and she doesn’t usually drink but ended up having a substantial amount of alcohol.
“It didn’t cross her mind that she shouldn’t have been drinking with the medication that she was taking.
“When going through the officer’s statement today, she got quite upset that she behaved that way.”
District Judge Zoe Passfield, who also fined Leighton £80, told her: “I give you credit for your guilty plea, and I take account of the fact that you’ve no previous convictions.
“However, this was an assault on a police officer who was doing their job and was kicked and that was painful.”