Woman bit officer on knee

Sophie Gardner, 20, of St Marks Close, was arrested after a fracas outside The Crypt Nightclub in Hastings in January.

She was charged with assault causing grievous bodily harm and accused of attacking another woman but after a trial at Lewes Crown Court, a jury found her not guilty.

However charges of assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest were not dropped and Gardner admitted both when she appeared at Hastings Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

Mark Kateley, prosecuting, said: “She was approached by officers outside The Crypt and did not take too kindly to it. She was arrested and started thrashing her arms around trying to release herself. She was continuing to struggle and kicking out and there came a point when she turned her head and proceded to bite Michelle Johnson on the left leg above the knee causing her some pain.”

She was finally brought under control by another officer and taken to the police station, where she was interviewed the next morning. “She did not think she had been that violent but could not really remember the biting, “ said Mr Kateley.

Gardner had a previous conviction for resisting arrest from November last year, the court heard.

Kim Goodall, defending, said: “What has happened at the Crown Court has borne out not only her behaviour but her thought process. She was the victim of the assault in the nightclub not the aggressor. She came out to complain to police that she had been beaten up when she was arrested. She was upset because she had injuries to her face which were self-evident. She was very drunk, She apologises for what has happened, which was obviously unpleasant, but the skin was not broken and there was no other injury. The officer’s knee was just the closest thing to her head.”

She had stopped going out in Hastings since the incident, the court heard.

“It is unacceptable but perhaps the court will have some measure of sympathy because of the fact she had been misdiagnosed as the aggressor rather than the victim that she clearly was,” Mr Goodall added.

Gardner was sentenced to a 12-month community order and told to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work.

Magistrates told her to pay £50 compensation with no separate penalty for the second offence. She was also in breach of a conditional discharge and received a £50 fine with a £15 victim surcharge.