Jail for man who racially abused PCSO and lied about swallowing large amount of heroin wasting NHS time

A MAN who hurled racist abuse at a PCSO and wasted police time by falsely claiming to have swallowed heroin after being arrested has been jailed.

Ethan Smith put officers at risk of being exposed to COVID-19 when he was taken to hospital for fear he could become seriously unwell after ingesting 22g of heroin.

When told he had been seen before genuinely ill patients, the 23-year-old laughed and told medical staff he had purposely wasted police time.

Smith was arrested on May 22, when Dyfed-Powys Police officers on patrol in Llanelli suspected he was driving while disqualified.

Two PCSOs saw Smith in the driver’s seat of a blue Citroen in a lane behind Station Road while patrolling the area. They recognised the driver, and followed him to a garage, where he claimed another man had been behind the wheel.

When cautioned by one of the PCSOs, he became aggressive, resisted arrest, and shouted racially aggravated abuse at the PCSO, insulting his nationality.

On arrest, he claimed to be feeling unwell, saying he had swallowed 20g of heroin.

Inspector Mike Ross said: “The defendant was clearly trying to evade arrest, and became very aggressive towards the PCSOs.

“Due to his claims that he had swallowed a large quantity of heroin, he had to be taken to hospital as he could have been seriously unwell. He later admitted to a nurse that this had been a lie he said to waste police time.

“There were safety implications for the officers who escorted him to hospital, as well as NHS staff, due to the potential exposure to COVID-19, and was completely unnecessary.

“To make matters worse, when he was told he had been seen to before genuinely ill patients, he had the audacity to laugh in the face of a doctor and nurse, showing his complete disregard for medical professionals.”

Smith, of Clos Cilsaig in Dafen, admitted charges of driving while disqualified and without insurance, using racially aggravated words or behaviour to cause another person harassment, alarm or distress, and causing wasteful employment of police. He appeared at Swansea Crown Court on Wednesday, June 3, where he was sentenced to 26 weeks in prison.

Insp Ross said: “We take offences against officers incredibly seriously, and will not tolerate abusive behaviour towards emergency services who are carrying out their duty to protect the public.”