Manchester: Nurse convicted of homophobic verbal abuse against policeman
A nurse in Manchester has been convicted of homophobic abusing a policeman as he tried to break up a racially aggravated argument.
Laura O’Shea had been drinking with her boyfriend, Dimitri Budiko, around Christmas 2011, the Manchester Evening News reports.
Budiko, 48, argued with a black cyclist who had been riding on the pavement and the argument became racist in nature, magistrates heard, with O’Shea’s boyfriend impersonating a monkey to goad the cyclist.
O’Shea, 44, an employee of the Manchester Royal Infirmary for 17 years, intervened when police arrived on the scene.
She issued verbal homophobic abuse at one officer but pleaded not guilty to the charge of using threatening and abusive behaviour.
John Black, defending, said the officer wouldn’t have been caused ‘harassment, alarm and distress’ by what she called him, but the Bench disagreed and chairman Paul Welsh said: “It was a serious insult.”
He added that the conviction could negatively affect her employment.
Budiko was convicted of a charge of racially aggravated threatening behaviour. Previous convictions will be taken into account when he is sentenced at a later date.
The nurse was convicted of using threatening and abusive behaviour and given a two-year conditional discharge. She must pay £500 costs.
