A man attacked a police officer who was looking for a missing person, then fought with six more before he was eventually detained.
Antonio Balde-Djau was initially approached by the officer who explained he was looking for a missing person, but was told to ‘f*** off’.
The 21-year-old then became agitated and aggressive before a violent melee ensued, Manchester Crown Court heard.
As the officer tried to detain him, Balde-Djau bit him twice on the forehead, leaving him with lacerations to his head, before running off.
It took six other officers to subdue him using pepper spray and a baton.
One officer suffered deep tissue damage to his knuckle and another had a suspected broken finger, the court heard.
Balde-Djau pleaded guilty to offences of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and assaulting an emergency worker.
He was handed a suspended sentence.
Jane Dagnall, prosecuting, said it was just after 11.30am on February 14 last year when the officer was patrolling along Stanley Grove in Longsight trying to find a missing person.
“He chose to speak to a number of people who appeared to be homeless to assist with his enquiries,” she said.
“He approached the defendant to ask if he was homeless but was told to ‘f*** off’.
“The officer explained what the nature of his enquiries were but the defendant was described as being agitated and became aggressive.”
The officer asked why he was out during lockdown and Balde-Djau said he was ‘just chilling’.
He became abusive again, telling the officer to ‘f*** off’ and was told to calm down.
The officer arrested him for public disorder and took hold of his right arm.
“He described that the defendant punched him to the right side of his face with a fist, and so the officer grabbed him by his throat, pushed him against the wall and told him to stop,” the prosecutor continued.
“He then bit the officer twice on the forehead. The officer could not reach his radio as they were so close to each other but he was eventually able to access his emergency button.
“The officer said he felt genuine fear for his life and photographs showed that he had obtained lacerations to his forehead and face.”
In CCTV footage played to the court, the incident lasted for around 10 to 20 seconds, showing Balde-Djau struggling with the officer before running away.
As other colleagues came to assist to try and detain him he motioned as if to bite one officer’s ankle.
That officer suffered deep tissue damage to his knuckle and another officer sustained a suspected fractured finger.
He was arrested and denied matters in his police interview, and was described as being ‘quite animated’ about how the police had behaved towards him.
In a victim personal statement, the officer said the incident had ‘made him think differently’ about going out in single crews.
“He said he had done nothing to provoke the attack, that he was trying to have a reasonable conversation with a member of the community he works in,” Ms Dagnall summarised.
“He said he felt an overwhelming feeling of fear, he was on his own and he couldn’t get to his radio.”
Balde-Djau was said to have no previous convictions on his record.
Mitigating, his barrister John Bottomley said the CCTV footage ‘wasn’t how the officer described’ and said the officer ‘alleged the punch’ before any further contact took place.
“A doctor has diagnosed him [Balde-Djau] with paranoid schizophrenia, and whilst being in custody it has triggered a very serious psychotic event,” he said.
“The doctor details the treatment being administered is particularly significant and the defendant is now responding well to the medication.
“There is a position of excessive self defence.”
Sentencing, Recorder Mark Ainsworth said: “The fact that police officers are routinely placed in the position where their safety is at risk does not mean it’s acceptable.
“The fact that they accept it as an occupational hazard does not mean it should be condoned.
“When somebody comes before the court, even a young man like yourself with previous good character, for offences such as these, it should be expected that the court will impose significant sentences.”
Balde-Djau, of Kellett Street, Rochdale, was handed 16 months imprisonment which was suspended for two years, along with 40 days of rehabilitation activity requirements.
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