Police were assaulted by drunk woman

Andrea Hobbs (39), Beech Court, Lurgan, admitted the assaults on the officers on March 8 last year and criminal damage to a radio ear piece.

For each offence she was sentenced to two months in custody, suspended for 12 months.

Sentence had been deferred in the case from a previous court to see if the defendant could stay out of trouble and last week’s court was told she had not come to police attention.

The court heard that at 9.50am at Beech Court a 999 call was made by an intoxicated female with reference to her son.

There were no persons present when police arrived and as they were leaving the defendant and her son came along.

Both were heavily intoxicated and the defendant was not making any sense.

She became irate and slapped and then grabbed the right side of an officer’s neck. She held on to the radio ear piece which was damaged.

Hobbs assaulted another officer by punching and kicking her. She was cautioned and became abusive to police.

A solicitor for the defendant said she had health difficulties but she had not come to police attention since this incident.

District Judge, Mr Mervyn Bates, said the matter did cross the custody threshold but because of the defendant’s previous history he could not consider community disposals.