Bit a police officer on arm during struggle

Barry Madden, Hazelgrove Avenue, Lurgan, appeared in court via videolink from Maghaberry prison.

He admitted charges of criminal damage to a police car, assault on an officer and resisting a constable on November 24 last year.

The court heard that when he was handcuffed the defendant scraped the cuffs along the side of a police car.

When he was placed in the vehicle he began to spit.

He was taken out of the vehicle and he struggled with police.

He tried to bite an officer before he was removed to a second police car.

Madden tried to wrap the seat belt around his neck and when a policeman tried to remove it he was bitten on the left forearm.

He also made a number of threats to his partner saying: “You’ve f—ked me over so I’m going to f—k you over twice as hard.”

A defence barrister said Madden had been in custody since November and his partner was pregnant with his child.

District Judge, Mrs Bernie Kelly, said he threatened the child as well as her.

The defendant interrupted to say ‘this wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t been drinking while she was carrying my child’ but added that he accepted responsibility for what he had done.

Judge Kelly said these were serious charges involving attempted intimidation of a woman and biting a policeman.

She certified them so serious there was only one penalty she could impose as he had a particularly poor record.

The judge sentenced him to a total of six months in prison and ordered him to pay a £25 offender’s levy.