Face of the Sheffield man who spat and coughed at cops and ‘hoped they would die’

Dean Hancock was in custody on April 29 and had been given a mask because he had been in contact with his NHS worker mother, said prosecutor Beverley Wright.

During the interview he became angry, called one officer a "f****** bitch" and removed his mask, before calming down.

But the interview was terminated when he continued to shout and swear and he was taken back to his cell.

When Hancock tried to throw a cup of orange juice over the officer, she told him: "Don't you dare."

Instead he took a mouthful and spat it over her hair, face mask, clothing and shoes.

Hancock took a deep breath and coughed into the faces of a detention officer and another constable five times, saying he hoped they died.

The first officer, who has a young child, described his actions as "spiteful and malicious" and said she would be devastated to develop symptoms.

In a statement, the second officer said: "I feel sick just thinking about it. He should be held accountable for his actions."

The detention officer said he was concerned for his health and the health of his family.

Sheffield Crown Court heard that Hancock has 18 previous convictions, including three assaults on police officers, and he served 10 months in prison for harassment in 2018.

Gareth Henderson-Moore, mitigating, said Hancock "expressed significant remorse and accepts that his actions were despicable."

"He would welcome the opportunity to apologise to the officers," he said.

Hancock, 23, of Barrie Crescent, Sheffield, pleaded guilty to three counts of assaulting an emeregency worker, when he appeared at Sheffield Magistrates Court, on May 1.

On Friday, Judge Sarah Wright told Hancock, who appeared via video-link from HMP Doncaster with a black eye: "Those who commit crime during periods of national emergency must expect their offences to be viewed more seriously.”

He was sentenced to ten months in prison.