Burnley police officer spat on by drug user during height of Covid-19 so worried about infecting his family he stripped off uniform on doorstep of his home

A Burnley police officer, who was spat on during the height of the second wave of covid, was so worried about infecting his family that he stripped off his uniform on his doorstep.
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The constable was attacked by drug user, Ria Moore, who was furious that police had arrested her boyfriend six days before Christmas last year.

The incident happened during the surge in cases caused by the Kent variant which led to lockdown restrictions being reintroduced by the government.

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PC Daniel Brown was sickened by the attack and made a statement saying he was so worried about the danger of infection that he removed his uniform trousers and stab vest before entering his home.

A court heard how Ria Moore spat on a Burnley police officer during the third wave of covid in December, 2020A court heard how Ria Moore spat on a Burnley police officer during the third wave of covid in December, 2020
A court heard how Ria Moore spat on a Burnley police officer during the third wave of covid in December, 2020

Moore (40) of Tristan Close, Exeter, admitted assaulting an emergency worker and was ordered to do 21 days of rehabilitation activities as part of a two year community order.

She was also ordered to pay £150 compensation rather than the statutory surcharge by Judge Peter Johnson at Exeter Crown Court.

Moore was spared a jail sentence after a judge heard how she moved to Devon and overcome her drug problems in the 11 months since the incident in Burnley.

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The judge told her: "What you did was outrageous. You were abusive towards the police and particularly towards PC Brown who you went on to spit at twice, first on his trouser leg and then on his uniform vest.

“He was clearly horrified by what you did because this was at a time when we were living with a pandemic.

"He had to change on his doorstep when he returned home from duty because he was so concerned at what you had done.”

Miss Sarah Johnson, prosecuting, said Moore and her then boyfriend were among a group who were involved in an incident in Burnley at 2.45am on December 19th, 2020.

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She became agitated and spat at the same officer twice, with the spittle landing on his vest and trousers. He made a victim statement saying he felt degraded by the assault.

Miss Felicity Payne, defending, said has overcome a drug problem since moving to Devon and impressed the substance abuse team by her commitment.

She has also made progress on sorting out her housing problems and ending a cycle of homelessness that led to her offending.