A Knowle man spat on a police officer, scratched his arm and hurled verbal abuse.
Stephen Robson kicked and punched the door of his Creswicke Road home on June 27, while shouting at his ex-partner through the letter-box.
The 60-year-old then assaulted PC Shane Jones – an offence he admitted today (July 28) at Bristol Magistrates’ Court, where he was handed a three-month curfew.
Prosecutor Andrea Edwards said: “Police were called to Mr Robson’s address at 11.15am on June 27.
“The call said the defendant had assaulted his partner at the address, by punching her in the ribs.
“No further action was taken on that as I understand it, but that is why police were called.
“Officers spoke to Mr Robson. He was demanding to go back into the address and officers explained that was not going to happen because of his aggressive demeanour.”
Robson kicked and punched the door, standing with his fists clenched.
“He looked red in the face and aggressive,” Ms Edwards continued.
“He shouted for his ex partner through the letter-box, and the officer said, ‘Leave or you will be arrested.’”
Robson replied: “Arrest me, Taser me, do whatever you want.”
He again walked towards the door and continued shouting at his former partner, prompting officers to attempt to apply handcuffs.
The defendant pushed their hands away and said: “F*** off.”
One of the officers then stepped back and drew their Taser, before handcuffing and arresting Robson.
Ms Edwards said: “He was shouting profanities, at one point calling the officers ‘c***s’.
“As he was taken to a marked police car, he was spitting as he was speaking. He tensed the upper part of his body and an officer could feel spittle hit his arms.”
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While trying to put a spit hood on Robson, PC Jones felt “sharp pain” when the defendant used his nails to scratch his right forearm, leaving him with a small cut.
In his police interview, Robson said he did not mean to “maliciously assault” the officer, but had “tried to push his hand away and been reckless”.
Ms Edwards added: “He said he was ashamed, as he is not normally like that and respects the police.”
Will Palmer, mitigating, told the court things had “got out of hand”.
He said: “Mr Robson has admitted he lost his cool, lost his head and was totally out of control.
“It was singularly unpleasant but he knows that. He’s not offended since 1980.
“The irony is the address he was ejected from is one where he is still a tenant. The relationship is over, and it’s not a bad thing in a way.”
The court heard Robson was unsuitable for unpaid work because he has cancer and is particularly vulnerable to coronavirus.
Handing down the sentence, Deputy District Judge Kevin Hill said: “This was a prolonged incident where you resisted, were aggressive and you spat, although that may have been because you were shouting.
“It would have been an extremely difficult and worrying incident for the officer.”
But the deputy district judge described it as an “out of character, isolated incident”.
Robson must serve a three-month curfew from 7pm to 7am. He is allowed in his garden so he can let the dog out.
He must also pay £100 in compensation to PC Jones, a £90 victim surcharge and £85 in prosecution costs.
Outside court, Robson told Bristol Live he is sorry and has "definitely" learned from his experience.
Asked if he is confident he will not reoffend, he replied: "I am confident I won't. I hope I don't."
You can watch footage of his comments at the top of this page.
