A man arrested for fighting in Oxford city centre has been jailed for headbutting a police officer and racially abusing his colleagues.
Jason Bourton, of Fern Hill Road, in Oxford, was sentenced to 135 days in prison at Oxford Crown Court on Wednesday, February 1. The 32-year-old was found guilty of assault by beating and racially aggravated harassment.
The court heard Bourton was arrested by officers following an altercation between himself and another man in Park End Street on July 16, 2011. Prosecuting, Tim Boswell said Bourton had shouted and sworn at officers as they put him in the back of a police van.
One of the officers, PC Robert Parker, tried to restrain him at which point Bourton edged forward and headbutted him. CCTV cameras caught PC Parker’s hat falling off, and he sustained injuries including a lump the size of a 10p piece and a graze above his eyebrow, and a one centimetre graze on the bridge of his nose.
As Bourton was transported back to the police station, he unleashed a torrent of racial abuse and bad language at PC Mavindra Narrainsawmy, who is of Asian origin. After using a string of offensive racial epithets, the court heard other officers in the van reported Bourton told PC Narrainsawmy: "This is white man's country. White power."
When in custody, Bourton initially refused to comment on his use of racial slurs, but then said: “No, no comment, I’m not saying I did it, I’m not saying I didn’t." And he then admitted he had "probably" used an offensive word towards PC Narrainsawmy "because he started on me."
Defending, Alistair Grainger said the incident had been extremely unpleasant for all involved. The court heard Mr Bourton lived lives his 85-year-old grandmother, who suffered from dementia and he acted as a part time carer.
When Judge Eccles asked whether Bourton could make a compensatory contribution, Mr Grainger said: “He is not somebody who is subject to the ravages of a drug habit. He is in receipt of benefit however he is in position to compensate £10 per fortnight.”
Concluding, Judge Eccles said: “I have taken into consideration that you have pleaded guilty and so you are entitled to a modest discount. You have no history of racially aggravated attacks or remarks on other persons in the years gone by. There is absolutely no reason for headbutting an officer who was doing his duty and no reason for racially abusing an officer.
“You have a shocking record for criminal offending and you did cause some injury to PC Parker. It wasn’t wholly trivial, it caused him some damage.”
Mr Bourton's sentence was reduced by 131 days, to include the number of days he had been tagged on remand. He was also ordered to contribute £150 as compensation for PC Parker’s injuries with the first payment due on February 29.
