Angry thug broke police officer's arm in Leeds doorway disturbance amid 'tirade of abuse'

The male and female officers attended the property on Low Moorside Court on August 11 last year and found Joshua Walker arguing with his mother, whom he lives with.

Having been told that it was just a verbal disagreement and the door closed, the police were then told by their superior they needed to check the property over, and so knocked again, prosecutor Jessica Lister told Leeds Crown Court.

When Walker resisted and tried to close the door for a second time, the female officer attempted to stop him but was thrown backwards. The male officer then tried to detain Walker and scuffle ensued, with them both ending up on the floor.

He eventually got handcuffs on him and initially thought his arm had been dislocated. Body-worn camera footage from the scene was played to the court in which topless Walker continued to be verbally abusive, telling them: “Who the f*** do you think you are?”

An x-ray showed multiple fragments detached in the officer’s arm. During his police interview, 30-year-old Walker admitted pushing the officer and trying to close the door. He told them he did not like police because of the way he and his family had been treated in the past.

He admitted assault on an emergency worker and causing actual bodily harm. A probation report suggested Walker “deeply regretted his actions”.

Mitigating, Richard Holland said: “He realises he should have just let the police in. They were simply doing their job, he now understands that. No police officer goes to work to be assaulted.

"He is not a danger to the public, his risk can be managed in the community. He is the full-time carer of his mother. He has not been in trouble since.”

The judge, Recorder Harry Vann told Walker: “It was an extremely unpleasant incident in the middle of the afternoon. It was not just the broken arm but the tirade of abuse that followed. You were as abusive as you could be.”

He gave him 18 months’ jail, suspended for two years, gave him 200 hours of unpaid work and ordered him to pay £500 compensation.