'Like something out of The Walking Dead': Call for tougher action on thugs who bite and spit at police
The man in charge of the welfare of police officers across the West Midlands has likened recent assaults on officers to scenes out of the hit US horror series The Walking Dead.
Sergeant Richard Cooke, chair of the West Midlands Police Federation, has hit out at the “feral culture” involving offenders biting and spitting at officers who are simply doing their job.
He has now called on the courts to issue stricter punishments to those attacking officers.
It follows a severe incident this week involving a Kingstanding police officer being allegedly bitten on the arm while transporting a prisoner. The officer’s arm was seeping with blood and puss and, after attending A&E, required a tetanus jab.
Sergeant Cooke said: “Assaults involving spitting and biting are becoming a common thing. Unfortunately, this is the society we’re dealing with now, a feral culture and, a lot of the time, it’s younger offenders doing it.
“The incident this week was pretty disturbing. It involved a bit of a scuffle in the back of the car and the prisoner bit my officer’s arm and drew blood, meaning he had to spend the night at A&E long after his shift finished.
"This has a knock-on effect on his family’s life then. He’ll have his kids saying, ‘Dad, what’s that on your arm…’ It’s not on. I know a lot of officers try to cover up their bruises and marks to stop their families, especially their kids, from asking questions.
“They also tell me they’d rather be punched in the face than spat at. It’s revolting and leaves officers feeling dirty.”
Sergeant Cooke added: “I just don’t know where this biting and spitting culture has come from. Honestly, you see some of the photos I’m sent of bites and it’s like something out of The Walking Dead. It’s rotten.
“We’re there to protect people. We’re the thin blue line before disorder, chaos and anarchy and the courts need to take things like this much more seriously.
"An attack on a police officer or an emergency worker is an attack on all of us because we’re there to protect.
"I know it’s not a huge incident, biting or spitting, but it’s wrong and it’s dirty.”
Report by Local Democracy Reporter Ashley Preece
