Drunken Wolverhampton woman stabbed good Samaritan who tried to help her - then racially abused police officer
She accompanied the women to a chicken shop but then became paranoid and aggressive.
A drunken woman viciously attacked a couple trying to help her after she was refused service at a Wolverhampton pub - then racially abused a police officer on the way to custody.
The women had tried to procure a taxi for Kerry Tallentire, 34, after she approached them at The Giffard Arms in the city centre on the evening of June 15 last year, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard this week.
Unable to book a taxi and concerned for her safety due to how intoxicated she was, they and their dog accompanied her to a nearby chicken shop to get food, prosecutor Lizzie Banahan told the court on Thursday (April 9).
While they were at the chicken shop Tallentire “became paranoid about three males stood outside the shop”, Ms Banahan said.
Tallentire believed the men were “taking the p*** out of [her]”. The court heard Tallentire has diagnosed mental health conditions, including paranoid personality disorder, which were exacerbated by her abuse of alcohol.
Her behaviour became more aggressive before she suddenly grabbed one of the women with her and pushed her to the ground at around 11.40pm.
Her partner tried to intervene and Tallentire shouted homophobic abuse at them before kicking the first victim in the chest, Ms Banahan said.
Part of the attack was recorded on CCTV footage which was shown to the court, to the distress of Tallentire who was attending the court remotely via video link from prison.
On the video she could be seen dragging the woman to the ground outside the shop and hitting her with fists and feet before being separated by a group of men. The victim’s partner, who was also hit, left the scene with the dog before returning to help.
Though they had been separated, Tallentire continued trying to get to the victim and was able to attack her again, knocking her to the pavement before going to the victim’s bag and removing a pair of scissors.
She stabbed the victim in the lower back three times with them before running off. The violence lasted about seven minutes in all, the court heard.
The manager of the chicken shop had witnessed the attack and phoned 999. Tallentire was arrested shortly after.
“She was heard to make racist remarks” to a constable, saying “get away from me, you’re Asian” and using a slur, Ms Banahan told the court.
She continued making racist remarks as she was taken to a custody suite in Bloxwich.
The PC she abused gave a statement saying racist abuse towards officers is “becoming more frequent” and that he now “expects” to be abused for his skin colour when he goes to work.
“I don’t understand why I’m being targeted,” he said in the statement read to the court by the prosecutor.
“When I am racially abused it prevents me from being who I am. This affects me in a way I didn’t expect it to. Before joining the police force I had experienced no racist abuse, but now it has occurred a number of times.”
The woman Tallentire attacked did not go to hospital and not did provide a statement about the impact on her.
Tallentire, previously of Hallett Drive in Wolverhampton, answered ‘no comment’ in interview with police but the following month admitted wounding with intent, possessing an offensive weapon, assault by beating and racially aggravated harassment.
Mitigating for Tallentire, Isabelle Haddad described the incident as a “spur-of-the-moment street fight” which lasted “a matter of minutes”.
She said that when confronted with what she had done the defendant said: “I can’t believe I am capable of this.”
“She has struggled to comprehend that she has caused such serious harm to another,” Ms Haddad said.
Tallentire has been taking medication to treat her mental illness, abstained from alcohol and has worked in a prison garden as well as an animal sanctuary since going into custody.
Addressing Tallentire, Recorder Geoffrey Kelly said: “That night you were very drunk; you were so drunk that people in the pub were worried about your welfare.
“Two of those people tried to help you [...] they wanted to make sure you got home safely. Unfortunately, they were the very people who you later assaulted.
“It started as a physical assault using your hands and feet but that wasn’t enough for your purposes. At one stage you obtained [the victim’s] scissors and you made a conscious decision to stab her, and you stabbed her three times.
“However drunk you were, this was a deliberate attempt you made to really hurt [her].”
He handed down a total sentence of three years and five months in prison for all the offences, that having been reduced because of Tallentire’s guilty plea and “genuine remorse”.
The recorder urged her to continue addressing her mental health issues, telling her “you have something to offer your family and your society”.