Demon-fearing man punched and bit police officers after Wakefield city-centre disturbance
He put windows of bars through on Westgate
A man who was standing in the street screaming about demons then attacked police who tried to help him.
John Chapman smashed windows to property in Wakefield centre, hurling bottles and a fire extinguisher, but then turned violent when officers arrived.
The 37-year-old was given a suspended sentence at Leeds Crown Court this week after the judge said he required mental-health treatment, given he had spent more than six months held on remand.
The court heard that shortly before 8am on January 25, Chapman was seen to hurl a bottle at the window of Popworld on Westgate, smashing the glass.
He then left and returned a short time later with a fire extinguisher which he threw at the window of the building next door - the Cosa Nostra bar.
Later that afternoon, police responded to reports of Chapman stood in the street “shouting about demons” and appeared under the influence.
Arriving officers at this point had little clue Chapman was responsible for the smashed windows, so offered to take him home.
Put in the back of the police van, he was then arrested for being drunk and disorderly, but when they tried to put him in handcuffs, he turned on them.
He punched one officer to the face repeatedly, and when a female officer tried to intervene, he punched her.
When they finally locked him in the van, he made threats to the driver on the way to the police station that he was going to stab him.
Having finally reached the station, he continued to remonstrate, trying to punch an officer again and managed to bite the finger of another while Chapman was being held down on the floor.
Chapman, of Drury Lane, Wakefield, admitted ABH, two assaults on emergency workers and two criminal damage offences.
He has 33 previous convictions for 85 offences, including 21 for violence.
Mitigating, Emily Jenkins said Chapman had severe psychiatric issues, mixed with years of drug abuse.
He is illiterate, has a personality disorder, possible autism, and was suffering severe hallucinations at the time.
She said: “He clearly requires very close mental-health monitoring. That plainly won’t happen in a custodial setting.”
Judge Richard Mansell KC acknowledged that Chapman had been on remand for six months and added: “I can see no purpose keeping you in custody.”
He gave him an 18-month sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered him to complete 20 days with probation.