Taia Antonia Ryder said she had no memory of what had happened at the event in Liverpool
Taia Antonia Ryder outside Liverpool Crown Court(Image: Liverpool Echo)
A woman who punched a staff member at a live music event in Liverpool deliberately urinated on a police officer who tried to arrest her. Taia Antonia Ryder, 28, drunkenly attacked the man at Blackstone Street Warehouse after he noticed she had a cut on her forehead and tried to help her.
The incident occurred on February 1 this year. Ryder, of Parker Street in Warrington, had consumed “six to seven cocktails before she went to the event and a couple of drinks at the bar” when staff at the venue went to check on her.
Prosecutor Derek Jones, at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday, September 25, said: “Staff were trying to assist her to see if she was OK, but after that she started to become aggressive with staff, and she said ‘I’m going to kill you’ to Marcus Hongkins (the victim).
“When she was taken to one side to the search area, she appeared to calm down so the staff let go to her, and at that point Mr Hongkins describes her punching him with her left fist to his lip, causing a cut.”
Police were called along with an ambulance, as “it was quite clear she appeared to be under the influence of something”. Officers attended and it was decided that Ryder should go to hospital, however “she began thrashing around in the chair and said ‘I’m going to spit at you'”.
PC Adam Humphreys attempted to put a spit hood (a type of restraint intended to prevent spitting or biting) on her, and she “lunged forward and bit him on the left forearm”.
Ryder was restrained and taken by ambulance to hospital. Mr Jones said: “Her behaviour was erratic, being abusive to the officers, but at the next minute saying ‘you’re lovely people, it’s not your fault’.”
Inside the hospital, she became aggressive towards medical staff and was describes as “lunging towards the doctor and threatening to bite one of the officers”. Mr Jones said: “PC Angel Hill started retraining the defendant’s legs, and at that point she noticed the thigh of her left leg becoming wet, and noticed the defendant had urinated while being held down.
“There were some words from the defendant that she had urinated on the officer deliberately. But the officer then stated she had to spent a further couple of hours with the defendant in hospital in her uniform, which was urine soaked.”
After being discharged from hospital at around 11.20pm, Ryder was taken to Edge Lane police station, where she spat in the face of PC George Whitehead after he tried to remove a blanket from her.
Mr Jones said: “When she was interviewed the next day she confirmed she had had a lot to drink: six to seven cocktails before she went to the event, and a couple of drinks from the bar. She remembered seeing swirls and patterns in front of her eyes, and could not remember anything after that.
“She didn’t deny what had happened, but she did say she was really sorry for her actions. She realised everyone was trying to help her.”
Ryder pleaded guilty to one count of assault by beating, and three counts of assaulting a police officer. She also admitted breaching a suspended sentence she had been given in November 2023 for being charge of being in charge of dangerously out of control dog, and smuggling class A drugs into prison.
Ken Heckle, defending, said Ryder suffered from “complex problems” and had “fallen through the cracks of different agencies”. He said; “She believes her mental health has kicked in and she had some sort of psychosis, which can happen with alcohol, and she has indicated she has very little recollection of it. But nonetheless the very next day at the police station she was apologising. So there is genuine remorse and regret right the way through this case.”
The 28-year-old shook her head and cried throughout the court hearing.
Sophie Hunt, a mental healthcare navigator from Warrington Voluntary Action, said: “When I first met Antonia she was street homeless. She was living in a tent, she had a homeless officer. She had no service provision in place and at the time I was the only professional supporting her. I had to liaise with the housing and homelessness team and she was placed into temporary accommodation.”
She said Ryder had since become a student at Bolton university and that she hoped to move to Manchester in the future. She said: “Antonia was really motivated and worked really hard to get herself in a more stable position.”
The judge, recorder Mark Bradshaw, said the offences were “frankly distressing and disgusting”, but agreed not to activate Ryder’s suspended sentence.
He sentenced her to two months in prison, suspended for 12 months. He imposed a £200 cost instead of activating her suspended sentence, and also ordered her to complete 25 rehabilitation days and a three-month alcohol abstinence.