A British man has been jailed for a year after threatening to spit at police and telling them he had the coronavirus.
Jason Gritton, 45, of Crystal Palace, South London, was found guilty of assaulting an emergency worker and affray on Tuesday after a trial at Croydon Crown Court.
"This sentence shows that threats and assaults on emergency workers will not be tolerated and the maximum possible sentence will be sought through the court process,” said chief inspector David Monk from the Metropolitan Police.
Police were looking for Gritton in relation to driving offences when they visited his home on April 30.
Initially he tried to hide from officers and then began waving a large knife while making threats to kill.
Gritton threw objects including a storage box at the officers and threatened to spit at them after claiming he had Covid-19.
Negotiators were called to the scene and later arrested Gritton, who was taken into custody.
The incident happened about a month after UK lockdown orders began.
At the time of Gritton’s arrest, police were trying to reduce travel to essential trips, on top of their usual duties.
The UK has had one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks, with more than 313,000 cases, and the most confirmed deaths in Europe at more than 41,000.
It is now trying to lift lockdown measures and reopen the economy.
But last week the government had to delay opening some sectors and increased the number of countries from which returning travellers require quarantine.
-
Volunteers from the National Muslim Covid-19 Response Committee pray before the burial of Abdullahi Adan, 52, at a cemetery in Nairobi, Kenya. Reuters -
Traffic officers talk to motorists during a mask wearing and public health protocols campaign at a check point in Jakarta, Indonesia. EPA -
Actors dressed as hummingbirds perform on the streets, flapping their wings during a mayoral campaign to promote social distancing, in Bogota, Colombia. Reuters -
Healthcare workers at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital hold a rally outside their hospital for safer working conditions in Fountain Valley, California. Reuters -
A youth gestures as he walks with others past a mural dedicated to frontline workers in Chennai. AFP -
A Kenyan medical staff member checks the medical records of a Covid-19 patient and a prisoner while his hand is handcuffed on his bed in an isolation ward in Machakos, Kenya. EPA -
Health workers in protective suits transport a corpse at a hospital in Manila, Philippines. AP Photo -
A medical staff member takes a sample from a man for a Covid-19 coronavirus test at Lala Lajpat Rai Memorial hospital in Meerut in Uttar Pradesh state. AFP -
Relatives react near the coffin of a man, during his funeral at cemetery in Mexico City, Mexico. Reuters
