Two men jailed for violent disorder
A man who was bitten on the bum by a police dog during riots in Hartlepool has been jailed.
Two men, Steven Mailen, 54, and Ryan Sheers, 29, were spotted ‘at the very forefront of the mob’ which targeted homes used by asylum seekers on Murray Street.
The pair were on their way home from a bingo game where they continued to drink. They stumbled upon the unrest on their way to the shop to buy more booze.
Teeside Crown Court heard how Mailen was ‘one of the main instigators’ with Prosecutor Rachel Masters saying he ‘taunted’ police and ‘incited the crowd to use violence towards them’.
He was seen ‘gesticulating’ towards an officer and shouting abuse at him before he was struck on the leg by an officer’s extendable baton.
Meanwhile, Sheers was described as ‘particularly violent’.
In footage widely circulated on social media, Sheers can be seen shouting ‘I pay your wages’ before he tells a police dog handler to get his dog a drink before the German Shepherd lunges at him.
The dog makes contact, pulling his shorts down.
Mailen attempted to grab the dog and when another officer tried to detain him, he grabbed his radio and tucked it under his arm.
The court heard how he proceeded to kick an officer several times in the shins after being struck by a baton again.
It took three officers to get his arms behind his back as he continued to resist arrest.
Nigel Soppitt, defending said that both men had expressed remorse and that these were ‘isolated’ incidents.
Judge Francis Laird KC watched bodyworn camera footage of the incident before telling them their behaviour was ‘truly disgraceful’.
He continued: “There was large scale damage to property and members of the public have been forced to endure the devastation and chaos caused to their community.
“The public are rightly outraged by this behaviour on the streets of this country.”
Both admitted violent disorder and were jailed for two years and two months.
Three more people are also due to be sentenced over the Hartlepool disorder at Teeside Crown Court this week.
