Adam Bennett sentenced to two weeks after assaulting a police officer and a shop worker

 

On Wednesday 1 November, 45-year-old Adam Bennett of Adelaide Court in Bedworth was arrested in Bedworth town centre after assaulting a staff member from a local shop and assaulting a PCSO.

Following his trial in Coventry Magistrates Court of 3 November, Bennett has been sentenced to two weeks imprisonment and ordered to pay a victims’ surcharge of £154.

He was also found guilty of violating Section 5 of the Public Order Act.

A PCSO was called to Bedworth town centre when a shop worker was physically assaulted by Bennett.

The shop worker suspected Bennett of stealing items. When they tried to prevent Bennett from stealing, they had a bottle of shower gel thrown at their head. They were also grabbed by the shirt and threatened.

Bennett then entered a nearby pharmacist, where an attending PCSO attempted to detain him until other police officers arrived.

The PCSO was assaulted by Bennett who slapped her hand, threw an empty medicine bottle at her, and threatened to punch her in the face, before leaving and entering a nearby clothes shop.

On his exit from the clothes shop, Bennett once again made threatening gestures towards the PCSO and said “I’ll tell you what I will do to you”, before being quickly tackled to the floor by a Police Constable and arrested for assault.

After proceeding to shout “F**K YOU” and “C**TS” repeatedly while on the floor, Bennett was also arrested for violating Section 5 of the Public Order Act.

The incident was caught on body-worn video and nearby CCTV cameras.

Adam Bennett has been found guilty of one count of assaulting a police officer, one count of assault by beating, and one count of using threatening language, abusive words, and behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm, or distress.

Chief Constable Debbie Tedds said “It is always distressing to hear of one of our officers being assaulted while trying to protect the public.

“A member of the public had been assaulted after trying to defend his place of work, which was unacceptable and necessitated a robust police response.

“It’s at times like this we are particularly thankful for body-worn video, which allow us to very quickly resolve all incidents of violence against our officers with sufficient evidence in court.

“I’d like to say thanks to the officers involved in this arrest for their professionalism and expedience in dealing with Mr Bennett.”