A Hamilton Parish man has been sentenced to ten days in jail for violently resisting arrest and spitting on police officers.

In Magistrates’ Court this morning, Jalal Rochester, 40, of Farm Lane, admitted assaulting police officers and resisting arrest on Saturday, March 22.

The altercation took place around 5.30pm when police responded to reports of a disturbance at the man’s Hamilton Parish home.

After arriving at the scene, officers approached Rochester, at which point he began cursing and acting aggressively, prosecutor Loxly Ricketts told the court.

After informing him he was under arrest for an outstanding warrant, Rochester responded, saying: “Arrested me for what? You’re not taking me nowhere.”

After handcuffing him, Rochester began swinging his hands violently at police, attempting to break free and continuing to swear.

He was eventually subdued and put into a police vehicle and taken to Hamilton Police Station.

But Rochester continued to curse and act aggressively, leaving officers unable to process him.

He then spat at an officer, at which point he was warned if he did it again, the officer would be forced to use incapacitating spray.

Rochester ignored the officer and spat at him again, prompting the officer to deploy the spray, said the prosecutor.

While officers gave him care for the effects of the spray, Rochester spat at officers twice more.

When a police sergeant came to explain the process to Rochester, he spat at the sergeant, telling him: “Don’t speak to me. You’re ugly.”

Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner sentenced Rochester to ten days imprisonment for each of the offences, with the sentences running concurrently.