A man has been slapped with 14 months in jail for spitting at a police officer, which during the COVID-19 pandemic was particularly egregious behaviour, the magistrate said.
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Jesse Roland Palmer, 29, of Macquarie, is the first person to be sentenced in the ACT under new laws directed at preventing front-line workers being assaulted.
Palmer was arrested earlier this month after an altercation with neighbours where he cut a man's head by punching him, threatened several people with a box cutter and smashed a light at the neighbour's home.
When ACT Policing Sergeant Michael Woodburn arrested Palmer he received a torrent of abuse from Palmer and other people at his residence. He then blew in Sergeant Woodburn's face and later spat in his face.
On Thursday, Sergeant Woodburn read a victim impact statement to the court and told Palmer that days after being spat on he developed flu-like symptoms which required him to isolate from his family and workplace.
Although he eventually tested negative for coronavirus and admitted it was unlikely Palmer had made him sick, the wait for the test result had caused significant anxiousness.
"I consider spitting in someone's face to be both a disgusting and inherently disrespectful act," Sergeant Woodburn told Palmer.
"As we all deal with the COVID-19 global pandemic and resurgence of positive cases here in Australia, I have no doubt these factors were in your mind at the time that you first blew in my face and subsequently spat in my face."
Prosecutor Sam Bargwanna said after police officers had placed Palmer in a spit hood so he could not spit on them again, Palmer commented the hood "won't stop COVID".
This, Mr Bargwanna argued, showed Palmer spat at the officer intentionally with concerns about COVID-19 in mind.
Sergeant Woodburn hoped the court would take into consideration the challenges faced by community police officers in a range of difficult scenarios.
"I maintained my professionalism in the face of your aggression," he said to Palmer.
"While you and your brother challenged me to a fight, called me a dickhead, a f----t, a f---ing retard, a c--- and a dog c--- before you eventually spat in my face."
The ACT has recently introduced an offence within the Crimes Act which targets the assault of front-line community service workers.
It is in response to alarming growth in the number of front-line workers, such as police officers and paramedics, being assaulted. It highlights that attacks on people providing a community service are particularly intolerable and aims to increase safety for workers.
After reading his statement, Palmer's defence lawyer Helen Hayunga asked Sergeant Woodburn whether he would accept an apology from her client.
"I don't want an apology from him," Sergeant Woodburn said.
"I just want him to do better. Fix your life, mate."
Ms Hayunga said that Palmer acknowledged alcohol had a detrimental impact on his behaviour but did not believe he was an alcoholic.
Special Magistrate Margaret Hunter noted the ease of transmission of COVID-19, which she characterised as an "aggressive and serious virus".
She said these factors contributed to making the spitting offence more serious than prior to COVID-19.
"I find [the spitting offence] absolutely egregious," Ms Hunter said.
"In my mind it is a very serious offence."
Palmer received a total sentence of 16 months in prison, with a 10-month non-parole period, which also accounted for the assault, weapon and property damage offences.
