Woman who spat at police and abused doctors avoids jail

Woman, 26, is spared jail for spitting at a police officer and being aggressive to doctors after claiming her drink was spiked by a mystery female reveller during a meal out with friends

Nicole Miller was found in alleyway after paramedics called police for support
After she was taken to hospital, she spat at police and was abusive to doctors
But she’s given a conditional discharge, meaning she’ll likely avoid punishment

By Richard Spillett, Crime Correspondent For Mailonline

Published: 10:08 BST, 1 July 2019 | Updated: 10:30 BST, 1 July 2019

A woman who spat at police and abused doctors after she was found slumped in an alleyway has avoided jail after claiming that her drink was spiked.

Nicole Miller, 26, insisted she’d only had a cocktail and a glass of Prosecco during a meal with friends in Huddersfield last month.

But she was found in an alleyway by paramedics next to a bar later that evening and police were called because the ambulance crew felt threatened.

Kirklees Magistrates’ Court heard Miller’s friends were being aggressive and she was threatening to self-harm.

Nicole Miller was found in an alleyway next to Huddersfield’s Shindig bar last month

Miller was taken to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary and officers stayed to protect medics.

Prosecutor Alex Bozman told the court: ‘She became abusive towards one of the officers, calling her a bitch and a tramp. She was also aggressive towards a doctor.’

Because of her behaviour, police decided to arrest her for being drunk and disorderly.

Mr Bozman said: ‘As she was being taken from the hospital she kept shouting at the officers in front of other patients.

‘She aimed a kick at one of the officers, she drew her PAVA spray and warned her about her behaviour.

‘As they got her out of the hospital and into the van she spat directly at the officer, hitting her in the face.’

Miller’s lawyers told Kirkless Magistrates Court (pictured) her drink had been spiked

Miller, from the Colne Valley village of Golcar, admitted assault by beating of an emergency worker but avoided punishment after her lawyer told of suspicions her drink was spiked.

Sonia Kidd, mitigating, said Miller had been out for a meal with friends and only had two drinks.

But while these were left unsupervised a female appeared and Miller believes that they were spiked as she has no recollection of what happened next.

Mrs Kidd said that her behaviour became erratic, going from resting her head on her friends’ shoulders to being loud and making threats to hurt herself.

She added: ‘She can not prove that her drinks were spiked. It’s all a blur and she’s devastated she’s here before the court for spitting, it’s not pleasant at all.’

Four in five police officers attacked in the last year, survey finds

Nearly 80 per cent of police officers on the frontline have been assaulted at least once over the last 12 months, a shocking new survey reveals.

One thousand police officers took part in a survey for Channel 4’s Dispatches show, which found around 90% of officers said physical attacks were now more frequent compared with 2016 and 2017.

According to Home Office figures in 2017/18, there were over 26,000 recorded assaults on officers – a rise of 20% over the last two years.

The number of recorded assaults has increased by around 70% since 2011, with a police officer reportedly being attacked, on average, every 20 minutes.

Dr Jess Miller, Neuropsychology Research Fellow from Cambridge University, told the programme of research she carried out interviewing officers across the UK.

She said: ‘The most stark finding was that one in five officers and staff have some form of PTSD. That Complex PTSD was the most prominent, with 90% of officers reportedly having been exposed to a traumatic incident.’

Dispatches: Officer Down: Police Under Attack is on Channel 4 on Monday 1 July at 8pm.

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