A teenage wannabe hardman abused a PCSO, calling him a “f**got” when he stopped to say hello – before threatening to attack him when he’s a year older.
18-year-old Declan Russell was a youth aged 17 when he verbally abused two officers who approached him to engage in “jovial conversation” on 25 August last year.
At Swindon Magistrates’ Court on 23 March, the defendant of Park North, pleaded guilty to two charges of using threatening or abusive words or behaviour to cause harassment, alarm or distress.
PCSOs Harry Partl and Charlotte Watson were on foot patrol in the Eldene area when they spotted Russell and two others – who were known to them – in Stubsmead Square.
They approached the trio to say hello and start a conversation, but the defendant became aggressive towards them – calling them “f**king c**ts” and other expletives.
Addressing PCSO Partl, he said: “You’re a f**king f**got Harry. You wait until I’m 18 and you’re not in uniform, you’re getting bottled”.
Keith Ballinger, prosecuting, said the officer felt the word “f**got was a highly homophobic word to have used. He asked the magistrates to take this into account and impose an uplift on the sentence.
The court heard how Russell was given a 12-month youth referral order in 2021 for possession of a knife in a public place.
Liz Highams, defending, said her client accepts the term used was homophobic but claims the defendant “did not mean it like that” and that he is “sorry for his actions”.
She said Russell’s mother confirmed that he was “doing really really well” in this work with the youth offending team and is completing a speech and language programme and CSCS training.
Magistrates imposed a 90-hour unpaid work order and told him to pay costs of £85 and a £22 surcharge.
