Man jailed for spitting at London bus driver during height of coronavirus pandemic

Mr Simpson, of Brockley Road, Lewisham, spat at the driver of the N11 bus on May 13
City of London Police
David Child1 September 2020

A man who spat at a London bus driver during the height of the coronavirus pandemic has been jailed for four months.

Kevin Simpson, 45, was sentenced to 18 weeks in prison after pleading guilty to one offence of Actual Bodily Harm (ABH) at London Magistrates Court on August 18, City of London Police said.

Mr Simpson, of Brockley Road, Lewisham, spat at the driver of the N11 bus on May 13 at about 4.30am after she refused to let him onboard while the vehicle was stationary at the Ludgate Circus traffic lights.

He had approached the driver's open window and asked the TfL employee to open its doors, only for the driver to say she could not do so while the bus was sat at traffic lights as it was unsafe.

The driver suggested Mr Simpson walk to the next bus stop, where she could pick him up.

Mr Simpson then put head through the open window and spat in the driver's face.

She subsequently managed to close the window, after which Simpson spat again at the window itself.

The driver later used her onboard “spit kit” to take a sample of the saliva, which was then used by City of London Police officers to identify Mr Simpson, eventually leading to his arrest.

Officers from the City of London Police visited Mr Simpson’s address on June 5, but he was not at home.

Mr Simpson handed himself in the next day at Bishopsgate police station.

Police Constable David Holmes from the City of London Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) said Mr Simpson's sentence reflected the "severity of a crime that could have been significantly more harmful" had the latter been infected with Covid-19 at the time of the attack.

"Thanks to the driver’s mindfulness to get a sample of Simpson’s saliva, despite just being victim of such a horrible act, we were able to identify and arrest him," Mr Holmes added.

“Nobody should have to be afraid of being assaulted whilst they go about their job, especially in such a disgusting manner, at a time when fears are heightened and the need to safeguard our personal health has never been greater.

"Concerns around protecting ourselves and our key workers from coronavirus are at the forefront of everyone’s minds right now, and rightly so.

"We want to reassure the public that we are taking instances such as this extremely seriously and bringing the perpetrators of these crimes to justice.”

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