PSNI arrest man with weapons who assaulted four officers by 'spitting, kicking, urinating and attempting to bite them'

Police in Northern Ireland have arrested a man following an assault in Portadown, co. Armagh, where one man was injured and four police officers assaulted by "spitting, kicking, urinating" and attempts to "bite them".

The PSNI received an initial report of assault shortly before 12:50am this morning in the Thomas Street area, where officers arrived to find a man in his 20s with injuries to his head. It is believed he was hit with a glass bottle.

The 31-year-old suspect, who was inside a property nearby, had a number of weapons, and was pointing what was believed to be a gun at attending PSNI officers. Specialist officers were deployed to mitigate any further impact to the local community.

At around 1.50am the man was arrested on suspicion of a number of offences, including making use of a firearm to resist arrest, possession of an offensive weapon with intent to commit an indictable offence, attempted wounding with intent, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Following enquiries, it has been determined that the gun was an imitation gun.

Chief Inspector Brendan Green said: "During the arrest, the man assaulted four police officers; this included spitting, kicking, urinating and attempting to bite them. Thankfully they were able to remain on duty, and the man was further arrested on suspicion of four counts of assault on police. He remains in police custody at this time."

"Assaults on our officers, who are there to keep people safe and serve the community, will not be tolerated. While thankfully none of the officers received any serious injuries, this could have been a very different outcome.

"Our investigation into this incident is ongoing and we would encourage anyone with any information to call us on 101, quoting reference 56 of 27/04/24."