Woman jailed for spitting at police

A Wanganui woman who spat three times at a police officer has been sent to jail.
In the Wanganui District Court yesterday, Judge Michael Radford described Aroha Harrison's behaviour as "disgusting" and "filthy" and said it would not be tolerated under any circumstances.
He sentenced her to two weeks in prison for assault and resisting arrest.
On October 17 last year, police arrived at Harrison's house to ask her partner to accompany them to the station for tests.
"You came to the door to see what was happening and & became agitated and aggressive," Judge Radford told the court.
Harrison, 50, then took several steps out of the doorway and spat at one of the officers twice.
She also flung milk and cereal at him and spat at him once more while resisting arrest inside the house.
When questioned about why she had behaved so uncooperatively, Harrison said she hated cops.
Judge Radford noted she had a very large number of previous convictions, including many drugs and dishonesty offences.
Harrison pleaded guilty to the charges, but said she had not spat directly at the officer.
Instead, she had spat in his direction and he had turned into it.
"I take that with a bit of scepticism. Primarily, you were trying to spit at the constable." Judge Radford said.
"This offence was disgusting. Spitting at police officers will not be tolerated under any circumstances."
While the law recognised people often became agitated when confronted by police, Judge Radford said Harrison's actions were pre-meditated.
"Police have a difficult enough job to do without people spitting at them like you did."
However, he acknowledged Harrison's bodily fluid had not hit the officer in the face, and that she had entered early guilty pleas.
Defence counsel Jacinda Younger said her client was remorseful and argued for a sentence of community work.
"It all turned horribly wrong very quickly," she said of the incident.
"She spat at the police officer and would have missed, but at that moment he turned around and into it."