'Abhorrent and unacceptable' - Racist thug jailed for verbal attack on Asian officer during Leeds disturbance

A 999 call was made in the early hours of April 10 to a disturbance in Armley involving Clark Thomas-Barr amid claims he was causing criminal damage at the home of his ex partner.

Prosecutor Laura McBride told Leeds Crown Court that due to his aggression and verbally-abusive behaviour, and that he was under the influence of drink and drugs, officers put him in the cage in the police van.

But the 31-year-old turned his attention to an Asian officer and began shouting threats and racial slurs, despite the officer’s best efforts to calm him down and help him.

On the way to Elland Road Police Station, Thomas-Barr then began banging his head against the side of the cage, forcing them to stop and use PAVA spray to subdue him.

In an impact statement read out to the court from the officer, he called the abuse “abhorrent and unacceptable”.

He said: “I was trying to be reasonable and he attacked my race to cause an adverse reaction from me.

"I was nothing but professional towards him. There’s no place for racism in society and he should be ashamed of himself.”

Thomas-Barr, of Edinburgh Road, Armley, gave a no-comment interview to police.

He has 27 convictions for 55 offences, including causing racially-aggravated alarm and distress and two assaults on police officers.

Despite this, his barrister Gareth Henderson-Moore said: “He comes from a multi-cultural area and says he has no racist views.

"They were said in anger at a time he felt hard done by.

"He accepts he was behaving in a way that was unacceptable, in his mind he was arrested for something he didn’t do.

"He is thoroughly ashamed of himself. He wishes to apologise to the officer.”

The judge, Recorder Jason Pitter KC, told him it was a “serious offence” and added: “There is little if any mitigation.

"It had a profound and deep impact on an officer going about his business.”

He handed Thomas-Barr 25 weeks’ jail.

However, he has been held on remand since that night, it is likely he would be freed immediately.