Assault Antidepressants 14/06/2006 England Woman Attacks Paramedic
Summary:
Paragraph 12 reads: "Griffin was thoroughly ashamed of her behaviour towards Mr Adams, which was a result of mixing alcohol and anti-depressants, he added."
Woman launched drunk attack on paramedic
A BOOZED-UP woman attacked a paramedic who went to her aid, a court heard.
Lena Griffin kicked ambulanceman Alan Adams and lashed out with her fists when he and colleagues were called out to check on the 30-year-old, who had been found lying in the street.
The attack took place after the mother-of-three took exception to the paramedic's suggestion that she was faking a fit, Cambridge magistrates were told. She concluded her violent tirade by spitting in his eyes.
Griffin, of, Hobart Road, Cambridge, was put on a Community Order for two years with 18 months supervision involving attendance on a probation programme to help her address her drink problem.
She admitted assaulting Mr Adams during the incident on January 29 and was also ordered to pay him £150 compensation.
Griffin also pleaded guilty to an earlier, unrelated offence of allowing her Rottweiler dog to be dangerously out of control when it set upon a teenage boy and bit him in his side.
The dog, a 10-month-old called Harvey, attacked the boy in the street after it escaped from Griffin's garden last October, the court was told.
The dog was subsequently handed to an animal shelter but has since been destroyed because of its uncontrollable behaviour.
Griffin, who has been behind bars for the past three weeks because she failed to turn up for three previous court appearances, wept as details of the offences were read to the court.
In a letter to the magistrates, she described her time in prison - her first - as "like hell on earth" and a "soul-breaking experience."
James Yardy, mitigating, said there was "an element of recklessness" over the dog incident and the assault on the paramedic.
Griffin was thoroughly ashamed of her behaviour towards Mr Adams, which was a result of mixing alcohol and anti-depressants, he added.
Urging a community penalty, Mr Yardy said Griffin had suffered "horrific" childhood experiences and her life had suffered through lack of structured support.
"Community intervention would clearly be the way forward for this lady," he said.
Griffin was also banned from keeping a dog for ten years.