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Home / Bay of Plenty Times

'Have some Hep C': Man's 'callous' infectious disease threat to Tauranga police officer

Sandra Conchie
By Sandra Conchie
Multimedia Journalist, Bay of Plenty Times·Bay of Plenty Times·
10 Mar, 2021 09:55 PM4 mins to read

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A Bay man has been convicted of attempting to infect a police officer with a disease. Photo / Getty

A Bay man has been convicted of attempting to infect a police officer with a disease. Photo / Getty

A Tauranga judge told a man, who lunged at a police officer's face with a bloody hand saying 'have some Hep C", his threat was "callous and quite cruel".

Judge Philip Connell made the comment to Peter Malcolm Black, 56, who appeared in the Tauranga District Court yesterday after Black earlier pleaded guilty to four charges.

The first and most serious charge was attempting to infect a person with a disease which attracts a maximum sentence of seven years' prison.

Black also earlier admitted charges of wilful trespass, resists police and assaults a person with a blunt instrument.

Judge Connell said there were only two options: either send Black to prison given his past record of violent offending or impose a rehabilitative sentence.

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The court heard that on October 13 last year Black was seen trying to conceal bottles of liquor down his pants at Liquorland store in Devonport Rd, Tauranga.

Black become abusive and threatened to "smash" the manager and the store when asked to leave, and the manager and another staff member locked themselves in an office.

Police attended but could not find Black who returned to the store two hours later and tried to hit the store manager in the head with a metal can, but he deflected the blow.

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The manager then pushed Black outside and locked the store.

Police found Black inside a bedroom at a nearby address a short time later, and he had bloody wounds on his feet and a hand.

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Black told the arresting officer that he needed his medication and footwear before leaving.

He then used his fingers to wipe fresh blood from the floor and lunged at the face of one of the two officers with his hand, saying: "Have some Hep C".

Hepatitis C is an infectious blood-borne disease.

The officer was able to stop Black's bloody hand about 5cm from his face.

Black also resisted the police officers' attempts to handcuff him, and he repeatedly flailed at police with his bloodied hand and also tried to kick the police with his bloody feet.

He had to be carried to the patrol car and made specific threats to shoot both officers.

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Black's lawyer Tony Balme urged Judge Connell to show some compassion to his client, saying he had a lot of health difficulties.

This included the cumulative effects of "decades of alcoholism and drug use", he said.

Balme said Black, who consumed synthetic cannabis that day and had a violent reaction and was awaiting more tests for a serious bowel problem.

Black also recently had a quite serious fall and he was physically frail, and if sent to prison there was a high risk he would end up living on the streets on his release, he said.

The court heard that Black's GP had confirmed that at the time of this offending the defendant was no longer infectious with hepatitis C.

Black and the victim of the liquor store assault offence had participated in a "very successful, very positive" restorative justice meeting, Balme said.

Black was sincere in his desire to rehabilitate himself but he was "Very poorly equipped" to be able to manage himself and urged Judge Connell to impose a supervision sentence.

Judge Connell said Black's actions towards the police were "shocking and shameful".

"In this day and age, the serious consequences of being infected with any disease is something we are all too well aware of.

"Clearly, you were cleared of having a disease (hepatitis C) in May 2020, but the Sergeant did not know that and naturally, he was concerned as any other human being would be.

"You were callous in my view and quite cruel. And you were also quite violent and abusive towards the police and the liquor store manager," the judge said.

However, Judge Connell said he was prepared to give Black a chance to redeem himself, and imposed 12 months' intensive supervision on the attempt to infect with a disease charge.

The judge also gave him a three-strikes warning and convicted and discharged Black on the other three charges.

Judge Connell told Black that he would be subject to 12 months' judicial monitoring and if he failed to complete his sentence he would send him to prison.

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