Disgusting spitting or coughing assaults on police officers in West Yorkshire are unacceptable
Shocking new figures have today revealed a 50 per cent rise in the number of police officers being coughed at, spat on or bitten, in West Yorkshire.
Since the Covid-19 outbreak in the region, there were nearly 670 such assaults aimed at officers on duty on our streets between February and November.
Frankly, the rise is alarming. Assaults - physical or verbal - are, of course, always unacceptable.
But disgusting assaults of this nature feel more sinister in the current climate. In some cases police say individuals are actually claiming to be infected with coronavirus, which has now taken countless lives, before spitting or coughing at officers.
These officers deserve our respect and those who commit these disgusting assaults must be dealt with swiftly.