Two police officers had to back off arresting a man after he made violent threats towards them. Patrick Farrell also shouted abuse at the officers after he was approached at the Haymarket Bus Station in Leicester city centre.
A warrant for the 59-year-old’s arrest had been out at the time of the incident when the bus station was crowded with many people. After officers located him, Farrell told officers to get away, yelling at one who grabbed his arm that a “headbutt is what you’ll get on your nose”.
Leicester Magistrates’ Court heard on Friday (January 3) that he then dared the officers to apprehend him. He reportedly said: “Go on – grab me if you dare.”
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Prosecutor Peter Bettany told the court: “The defendant was arrested because he was wanted and he had to be searched, at which point he was being very verbally abusive.”
He said Farrell told the female officer not to touch him and used various swear words. He added: “There was a significant amount of pedestrians at the bus station.”
Mr Bettany said Farrell had a “substantial record” of previous offences, incliding assaults on emergency workers in the past. In a victim statement read out in court, the male officer said: “It was alarming and distressing and I decided to back away from him.”
After later being arrested and searched, Farrell, of Blickling Walk, Humberstone, Leicester, was taken to a police station where, during his interview, he apologised for what he had done. Representing himself in court, he told the magistrates: “I just had a lot going on. I’m sorry. It gives me no excuse. I’d lost my mum and dad as well so I had a lot going on in my life.”
Farrell, who told the court he was dependent on drink and drugs and would drink alcohol every day, pleaded guilty to using threatening behaviour intending to cause a fear of violence against the female Pc. He also admitted a charge of common assault against the male officer he threatened.
Magistrates decided to obtain a pre-sentence report from the Probation Service. Farrell will be sentenced at a later date.