It's assault , courts take spitting really seriously, I've seen west Yorkshire police take DNA off a spat on car never mind a person. Well done for taking action to challenge the knob.
Spitting at someone is common assault, as a cop myself I always arrest people that spit at me and nearly always they are successfully prosecuted. I would urge everyone to do the same and always report it.
Oh and we absolutely do send off spital for dna testing if we have some and don’t know who the offender is.
I bet 50p the cops don't test the spit. Happy to be proved wrong.
It'll depend in part on whether they need to. ID'ing the driver should be fairly easy without it, after that it comes down to whether or not they need it to prove he spat at him - if they get a burst it'd be totally unnecessary.
Never knew it was taken so seriously. I’ve been spat on for no other reason than being on a road bike. Fellow runners have been spat at too. Luckily never in the face.
Although horrible thing to happen some of the ridiculous vile responses on here make some of you no better
It’s disgusting, I’d rather be punched in the face. The tram and bus drivers in Sheffield carry spit kits with them for such occurrences. I recently sent one off for testing, unfortunately the dna profile returned wasn’t matched on the database (only if someone has been in custody previously and had their dna taken will you get a match).
At least for the OPs case they can 172 the driver.
Okay, the police have been and taken my statement. They will go and speak to the driver. However, they say there’s not much they can do, as there were no witnesses. They asked me what outcome I wanted, to which I asked what were my options - I don’t remember what they were, but nothing hugely satisfactory. I’m not sure what I do want done, but I wouldn’t want someone who drives like that and readily spits in someone’s face, to get away with that repeatedly.
Unfortunately to end it all, they told me that I needed to reflect on my actions and not be confrontational in future! I explained that I found that offensive and that if I did nothing then how would he know his driving was unacceptable and that it was a normal reaction to somebody driving too close, too fast. They said that I could have contacted them anyway about the close pass at speed and that they would have spoken to him.
He will contact me later to tell me the outcome of their speaking to the driver.
He will contact me later to tell me the outcome of their speaking to the driver.
Let's hope he's stupid enough to spit on the coppers. Not because I condone spitting at the police of course but I'm pretty sure they'd start finding all kinds of ways of bumping up the charge sheet.
Sorry to hear that OP. That's not how it would have been dealt with where I work.
Sorry to hear that OP. That's not how it would have been dealt with where I work.
Is there much difference between Scotland and the rest of the U.K.? More than once he said “well that’s the way it works in Scotland”.
Did you keep the spit as evidence? I think otherwise it will be your word against theirs and the police won't do anything other than visit.
I've had this before and called the police about it. Sadly they wouldn't take samples of the spit so he just had a visit. Not in the public interest was given as a reason.
There are quite a few differences, both in legislation and approach I guess. That said, at the end of the day, things that are a crime down there and still a crime up here, just maybe a slightly different one (eg. there's no such thing as burglary in Scotland). Perhaps they assessed it that they couldn't realistically get any DNA since you (quite understandably) washed your face? I'd have given it a shot if you still had the tissue you wiped your face with. As others have also pointed out, there is plenty of precedent both sides of the border for prosecuting people for assault for spitting, and using DNA to do so.
As the guys is clearly a scumbag he might kick off with the Police knocking on his door on xmas eve. Then he will get what he deserves for being a knobber.
My bet is he will deny all knowledge and hope there is no proof (cctv, eye witness or DNA ) and bluff it out.
At least he will have a marker against his name/ vehicle.
Shame, a good lesson not to wash the spit off.
They said that I could have contacted them anyway about the close pass at speed and that they would have spoken to him
ANY time I have complained about driving I have been told they won't do anything without witnesses.
Unfortunately to end it all, they told me that I needed to reflect on my actions and not be confrontational in future!
No surprise there then.
[quote=cynic-al ]ANY time I have complained about driving I have been told they won't do anything without witnesses.
Depends on the force, and also who you speak to and the time of year IME. I've had that response, but I have also been told they would go and speak to the driver for something very similar.
If I still commuted on a bike I would have a head cam running without fail these days.
There is a deterrent value and also (hopefully) some decent proof captured too.
That driver must really know how to launch a flob! In all my riding altercations I've never managed to get close enough to get spit in my face.
