A man who was being arrested by police attacked one of the officers using a key to inflict a facial injury, a court heard.

Police called at an address in Easington Colliery, after a report was received over an alleged domestic incident at 6.40pm on August 26, last year.

Durham Crown Court was told that upon arrival at the property in Barwick Street, one of those present, Matthew Smith, told the officers they were attending a place where they were not welcome, “where people murder police”.

A check on the police computer system showed the defendant was wanted and so one of the officers took out his handcuffs to detain him.

(Image: Durham Constabulary) The defendant lunged past that officer and struck one of his colleagues to the face.

A taser was then deployed and the three officers present completed Smith’s arrest.

Annelise Haugstad, prosecuting, said it was only then that the officer who had been struck in the face realised he had suffered an injury to the left cheek, not far below the eye.

Examination of the incident on body-worn camera footage showed the defendant placing a key between two finger knuckles immediately prior to launching towards the injured police officer and cutting his face.

The officer required medical attention with the insertion of steri-strips to treat the injury.

In a victim statement the injured officer said he believed the defendant deliberately placed the key between two fingers intending to injure him.

As Smith made no attempt to escape, the officer said it appeared that the defendant only wanted to cause harm and injure one of the police personnel present.

Miss Haugstad said as Smith was being arrested, he told the officers he hated police more than anyone else on the planet.

It emerged the defendant was wanted on a warrant issued by magistrates in Buckinghamshire in 2021 for failing to attend court in Milton Keynes over an incident where he made threats and caused damage to the home of another family while wielding a golf club.

Forty-year-old Smith, of Barwick Street, admitted assaulting an emergency worker, relating to the Easington incident, in August last year.

He admitted charges of possessing an offensive weapon, threatening two people with an offensive weapon, criminal damage and a public order charge all arising from the 2021 incident in Milton Keynes.

(Image: Durham Constabulary) The defendant was said to have 30 convictions for 74 offences, several involving violence, some of which have resulted in past prison sentences.

Michele Turner, for Smith, said after the incident in Milton Keynes, the defendant came to the North East seeking, “a new life”.

Miss Turner said unlike with past periods in custody, this time the defendant has engaged with all the services available in prison and has remained dru-free.

He has completed various work qualifications and has received an award for being the “most Improved Inmate”.

She said it represented a “significant change” in his attitude and he is now entirely remorseful for his actions.

(Image: The Northern Echo)

Judge Nathan Adams said looking at the defendant’s antecedent history, “it’s a serious record” of offending, featuring public order, violence and robbery offences, leading him to the conclusion that Smith poses a significant risk of causing serious harm to the public.

He said the attack on the police officer could have been more serious had the injury been a centimetre or two higher, which would have risked damage to the victim’s left eye.

“Fortunately, it wasn’t more severe.”

Imposing a total three-year prison sentence Judge Adams said he hopes the defendant continues to engage with services available to him in prison.

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Addressing Smith, he said “I hope this is very much a line in the sand and we don’t see you back here.”

Two years of the sentence imposed was for the offences committed in Milton Keynes, with one year for the Easington incident.

But the two jail terms were made consecutively, giving the total three-year sentence.