Woman spat at officer during attempted police strip search

A woman who spat in the face of a police officer attempting to search her was jailed at Lincoln Crown Court on Thursday.

Romayne Thompson had been arrested for breach of bail conditions and was taken into custody at the city’s West Parade police station where she became violent.

Richardo Childs, prosecuting, said: “She was shouting incoherently and saying she was going to collect the CCTV and everyone was going to lose their jobs.

“The officers tried to carry out a strip search but during this she spat at the officer and hit her in the corner of her eye.

“She was told on several occasions to stop spitting. Unfortunately she did not.”

Thompson was eventually restrained and the search was carried out.

The victim PC Kathryn Baines complained that she had a lot of spit in her hair and some of the spit went close to her mouth.

The court was told that Thompson has hepatitis C.

Mr Childs said that Thompson was originally arrested three days earlier after an incident in which she smashed a saucepan over the head of a 70-year-old man, leaving him with blood pouring from a wound.

Thompson, who at the time was living with the victim John Tasker at an address in Fairfax Street, Lincoln, asked him to sell a heater in order to get cash for drugs.

He went to Cash Converters but they refused to purchase the item and when he returned to the property without money she attacked him.

Police were called to the house and Thompson was arrested. She was taken into custody but became violent during an attempt to take her fingerprints. She went on to hit and slap the civilian custodian.

Thompson, 28, of no fixed address, admitted assaulting emergency worker Kathryn Baines by beating as a result of the incident on July 14 this year.

She also admitted assaulting John Tasker causing him actual bodily harm and assaulting emergency worker Elizabeth Cole by beating on July 11.

Thompson was jailed for 18 months. She was also given an indefinite restraining order banning her from contacting Mr Tasker and from visiting his home address.

James Gray, in mitigation, described Thompson as a vulnerable woman who has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

He told the court that since being remanded into custody she has made “remarkable” progress in sorting out her life but accepted she faces a prison sentence for what she did.