A man verbally abused a passing child who checked on the welfare of two police officers he had punched in the face on Christmas Day.
At Swindon Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday (26 January), Andrew Simango, 20, pleaded guilty to two counts of assaulting an emergency worker and a public order offence.
Prosecutor Natalie Cheesman said the defendant, of Swindon Road, Stratton St Margaret, lashed out at the officers when they attempted to arrest him on 25 December 2021.
999 was called when a heated argument broke out between Simango, his father and his sister.
Concerned things would escalate if he remained at the family home, the attending officers decided to arrest him for breach of the peace.
They described the scene as “chaotic and highly energised”, with various and conflicting reports about what happened.
But as PC Matthew Baker and PC [name redacted] went to place handcuffs on Simango, he punched them in the face – causing minor injuries to PC Baker, where his glasses pushed into the bridge of his nose.
The defendant had to be sprayed with PAVA in order to gain compliance.
As they took him to the police van outside, a young child cycling past the commotion asked the injured officers – who were feeling the effects of PAVA spray – if they were okay.
The Zimbabwean shouted to the child: “Go f**k your mum you c**t”.
“As my children get older, it gets harder explaining why daddy is hurt, especially on Christmas Day”, PC Baker said in his statement.
Richard Williams, defending, said his client accepts he acted improperly, but he was not under the influence of drink or drugs at the time of the incident.
He said it was triggered by a family dispute and he was “in a bad mood that day”.
Simango is said to be actively seeking work but he is currently supported by his father who gives him about £50 a week.
Citing his abusive comments to the small child as a reason they could not deal with the matter on the day, magistrates adjourned the case for an all options pre-sentence report.
They indicated that if he had not made the remark, he would have been sentenced immediately. However, the verbal abuse of a child tipped the case into a higher sentencing guideline.
