Drug binge teen spat vomit into PC's face

Frederick Astor, 19, a great great grandson of the second Viscount Astor, hurled verbal abuse at three police officers called to Merriscourt House, Churchill, then spat at two of the constables who were helping to take him to hospital for treatment of a head injury.

One of the officers, a PC Dyson, who had vomit spat into his eyes, said in a victim statement: “I have been punched and kicked in the head amongst other things, but this in my opinion is the worst assault I have suffered.

“To have vomit spat at my face in the midst of a global pandemic is disgusting.”

Sentencing him to an 18 month community order, chairman of the bench Carol Payne said: “These were particularly unpleasant assaults. We’ve heard how you have felt remorse in relation to that and certainly for the officers concerned it was a very unpleasant situation to find themselves in.”

The court heard that police were called to Merriscourt House, near Chipping Norton, on July 3. When the officers arrived, Astor was being restrained by his father and there were ‘clear signs of damage’.

Worried about an injury he’d suffered to his head, officers called an ambulance for the teen. As they waited for it to arrive, he swore at the officers and tried to kick out with his legs. He turned to SPC Saunders and spat at the volunteer constable – hitting him in the arm.

A spit hood was replaced with a surgical mask for the ambulance ride to the hospital. Astor vomited into the mask and, as PC Dyson tried to help clean him up, the teen spat the sick into the officer’s eyes.

Mr Dyson said in his victim statement: “Frederick’s behaviour throughout the incident was disgusting. He spat at SPC Saunders who is a special constable and volunteers his time to help the police. He’s done nothing to deserve the assault or verbal abuse thrown at him.”

Astor was said to have taken a cocktail of drugs including Tramadol and drunk a couple of bottles of wine and had no memory of assaulting the officers.

In a note read to the court by defence solicitor Mavalynne Lewis, the teen said: “What I did to those police officers was disgusting. I’m so, so sorry. I don’t even recognise myself on the [police body worn] video.”

He had suffered with mental health difficulties and had long-standing trouble with insomnia. He had turned to drugs – particularly cannabis – to address his problems.

Just before his GCSEs he was kicked out of his Dorset boarding school, where he said he was bullied, for selling drugs to another pupil. He described a spell at a rehabilitation facility in the Netherlands to the author of a psychiatric report as ‘s***’. He had been sectioned under the Mental Health Act while still in his teens.

The teenager was now living in Oxford and taking qualifications in art, English and maths at a college in the city.

As part of the community order, Astor must do 120 days on an alcohol monitoring tag, 24 rehabilitation activity days and pay £300 compensation to the police officers. He must pay a £95 victim surcharge.

Frederick Astor outside Oxford Magistrates' Court

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