Man Jailed For Assaulting Emergency Staff
29 March 2019, 11:04 | Updated: 29 March 2019, 11:05
A man who swung a phone charger at a paramedic in Medway before spitting in the face of a police officer has been jailed for a year.
Adrian Edwards was arrested following reports he had assaulted a paramedic who had asked for a bag he had removed from an ambulance to be returned.
He went on to assault two police officers, one of whom came to provide assistance to the paramedics and another who was taking him into custody.
The 43-year-old, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to two counts of common assault, two counts of assaulting an emergency worker, theft from a motor vehicle and two counts of criminal damage.
He was sentenced at Medway Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 27 March 2019.
The court heard that on the evening of Monday 25 March 2019 Edwards stole a bag from an ambulance parked outside Medway Maritime Hospital’s Accident and Emergency Department.
Prior to stealing the bag, Edwards had caused a disturbance inside the hospital and demanded the paramedics drive him home.
They refused to help him and sought out a security guard for help before driving away from the hospital, unaware that Edwards had removed a bag containing a paramedic’s lunch and identification documents.
Shortly after realising their bag had been stolen, the ambulance crews saw Edwards walking in White Horse Road, Chatham, and asked for it back.
Edwards told the crew members he had already handed the item over to a security guard. He then swung a glass bottle and a phone charger at one of the paramedic’s heads after he was told they were calling Kent Police for support.
Kent Police officers were able to intervene and arrested Edwards on suspicion of assault but first conveyed him to hospital due to concerns for his wellbeing.
At hospital he spat at various walls and into the face of a police officer, who was attempting to restrain him.
After receiving medical treatment, he then punched a different police officer while he was being transferred into custody.
Once in custody, he also damaged the cell floor and a camera.
Chief Inspector Rob Marsh, Kent Police’s District Commander for Medway, said: "The levels of abuse Edwards displayed against four members of the emergency services is entirely reprehensible and it is pleasing that the courts have taken such quick action to ensure justice is carried out.
"Edwards’ actions meant the ambulance crews may have been prevented from helping someone experiencing a genuine emergency while the assaults against the police officers were thoroughly degrading.
"I commend my officers for the professionalism they showed while dealing with this offender and I hope his immediate imprisonment sends out a strong message that this behaviour cannot be accepted.’
