A BATHURST man who spat at police after they drove him home from hospital has been jailed.
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Joseph Duncan Doolan, 53, of Rocket Street, appeared in Bathurst Local Court via audio visual link for sentence before magistrate Catherine Follent last week.
The matter was part-heard on Monday, January 13 where Doolan's solicitor Lucien Gration conceded the assault on the officer was particularly degrading.
Mr Gration told the court his client was intoxicated on the night and his behaviour had been an impulsive act.
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The court heard Doolan grew up in Walgett and had experienced a degree of racism, along with difficult relationships with authority.
Mr Gration said his client had entered a plea of guilty at the earliest opportunity and when he is released from jail he plans to return to Walgett.
"There is a doctor there he likes and engages well with, and he also has family there," he said.
Police facts tendered to the court told how in the early hours of November 11 last year police received a call from Bathurst Base Hospital. Officers were told the accused was highly intoxicated, becoming aggressive and refusing to leave.
Police attended and offered to take Doolan home. He accepted and they drove him to Rocket Street.
When police arrived at the home, Doolan couldn't get out of the caged vehicle and after multiple attempts became agitated and angry. He then spat at the officer who felt it hit his face and arm.
Doolan was arrested and taken to Bathurst police station where, after being searched, he was found with three buds of green vegetable matter, weighing 0.9 grams.
In sentencing Doolan, Ms Follent noted his long criminal history littered with violence and property matters.
She said spitting at the officer was a particularly heinous crime due to the risk of disease, as well as a being a degrading experience for the officer.
Doolan was sentenced to an aggregate sentence of 18 months, to date from November 11, 2019 and expiring on May 10, 2021. He was given a non-parole period of nine months.
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