A DRUG user kicked a paramedic and a police officer in the groin as they tried to help her from a suspected overdose.
Grace Canelle-Dance refused to go to hospital when ambulance crews arrived at her flat in Brighton.
She kicked, scratched, and tried to bite the emergency workers, and spouted obscene homophobic abuse.
It was revealed that the incident took paramedics off the front line for more than six hours earlier this month.
At Brighton Magistrates’ Court the 23-year-old admitted five assaults on emergency workers, one of which was homophobic.
She was ordered to pay hundreds of pounds in compensation but was spared a prison spell.
Jeremy King, prosecuting, said the ambulance crews went to Stroudley Road in Brighton on May 7 over fears Canelle-Dance had overdosed.
He said: “Paramedics describe her as slurring her words. They needed to get her to hospital for treatment but she refused.
“It was decided she did not have the capacity to make a safe decision for herself, so more paramedics were called to assist.
“She was verbally abusive and threatening, and when one paramedic tried to restrain her, she kicked him in the genitals and attempted to bite his right arm.”
Virginia Bilcliffe, Joe Romaine and Stephanie Howard-Beasley were assaulted.
Then PC Andre Owen and PC Alex Monteiro arrived, and Canelle-Dance launched an attack on them too.
She also kicked PC Owen in the groin and scratched him, and scratched PC Monteiro.
Canelle-Dance launched homophobic abuse against PC Monteiro and called her a “f****** pig”. Mr King said Canelle-Dance has no previous convictions.
Rachel Lancaster, defending, said her client wanted to make amends for the distress she had caused.
A probation report said Canelle-Dance has struggled with taking the class C tranquiliser drug Xanax and class C sedative drug GHB/GBL.
The service said she suffers from chronic pain syndrome and was therefore not suitable for unpaid work.
Magistrate Chris Bell ordered Canelle-Dance to complete 30 rehabilitation sessions in the next year. He also imposed a total of £480 in fines, and a further £500 in compensation to the emergency service workers.
Have you been affected by crime in Sussex? Share your story. Contact the crime reporter, email: aidan.barlow@theargus.co.uk, call 01273 021383, or add him on Facebook: Aidan Barlow Argus
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