Joseph Bramley, 33, of Bradley Road, Prudhoe, Northumberland, was sentenced to 30 months in prison at Newcastle Crown Court after biting a police officer's neck and another officer's arms. The court heard how Bramley, who was already in custody at Forth Banks Police Station for biting a police officer, launched a violent attack on a second officer.
Attack at Forth Banks Police Station
Newcastle Crown Court was told that Bramley was asked by an officer not to keep putting a blanket over his head due to safety reasons. He responded by swearing at the officer and pushing him backwards with both hands, causing him to lose his balance. Bramley then bit the officer's neck, breaking the skin, and refused to loosen his grip. In a victim impact statement, the officer said he feared Bramley would have taken part of his neck with him if he had pushed him off, due to the tightness of his grip.
Jennifer Coxon, prosecuting, said other officers rushed to help, and the officer had to undergo tests at the hospital due to the risk of infection. She stated: "The officer attended the RVI with a human bite mark to the side of his neck."
Earlier Incident at Metrocentre
Earlier that day, on November 19 last year, Bramley was spotted by another officer at the Metrocentre in Gateshead. The officer recognized him as wanted for failing to appear at court and stopped him. When Bramley tried to leave, the officer grabbed his jacket. Bramley removed his jacket, and the officer took hold of his hooded top underneath. Ms Coxon said the officer tried to restrain Bramley, who then reached towards his neck with both hands and bit him on both forearms. Bramley told the officer: "Get off is you little c***," followed by "I know where you live" and "I'll go straight to your door and chop your legs off."
Conviction and Defence
Bramley was found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and assault by beating following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court. Katie Spence, defending, urged Recorder Toby Hedworth to hand Bramley a suspended prison sentence, saying: "The public might be better served with this defendant under the service of the probation service. Using his words he's learnt his lesson." She added that Bramley was unemployed but had worked full-time as a chef and wanted to continue that work on release.
Sentencing Remarks
Recorder Hedworth told Bramley, who appeared via video link to Durham prison, that he overreacted to reasonable requests by police officers. He said: "Both officers had to go to hospital to have checks because of the risks of infections being caused to them." Regarding the first officer at the Metrocentre, he noted the officer conducted himself professionally and reasonably, but Bramley was out of control and used completely unreasonable violence, including biting and issuing violent threats. For the second attack at the police station, he said: "I have seen the video footage of you propelling him almost out of the cell door and then you step forward with a series of attacks on him you clamp your jaw into his neck and would not release. A number of officers had to try to come and get you off him. It was frankly an alarming use of violence by you." He sentenced Bramley to 30 months behind bars.
