Selina Eileen Krakouer receives community-based order for spitting at police officer in York Street arrest

An Albany Magistrate has slammed a 41-year-old woman for spitting in a police officer’s face, saying a message needed to be sent about the seriousness of the offence in the age of COVID-19. Selina Eileen Krakouer appeared in Albany Magistrates Court last Thursday where she pleaded guilty to assaulting a public officer and disorderly behaviour in public during an incident on York Street on May 9. Police Prosecutor Sergeant Dave Loverock said between 1.30pm and 3.30pm Krakouer attended Bankwest on York Street to withdraw money, but the bank was closed due to a telecommunications issue. She returned to the bank a short time later but was again unable to enter and started acting aggressively and yelling, Sgt Loverock said. Police were called and arrested Krakouer after finding her in an “agitated state” yelling and standing in the middle of the road. While police tried to put her in their vehicle, she spat in the face of one of the officers, with her spit landing on his cheek and glasses. Defence lawyer Raymond Muir said Krakouer had been experiencing mental health issues and admitted to being “highly under the influence” of alcohol at the time of the incident. Magistrate Dianne Scaddan said a message needed to be sent about spitting. She said before the start of the COVID pandemic, spitting at police officers was not viewed as being as serious an offence as it is now. “We don’t live in those times, sadly, anymore,” she said. Ms Scaddan said “people must rethink their attitudes in terms of spitting” because the risk of COVID is at the forefront of people’s minds, especially frontline workers. She described it as a “disgusting and degrading thing to do” and said police officers could not protect themselves from COVID by working from home. “In the current environment in the past two years, people are very anxious about the transmission of COVID,” she said. Krakouer was given a 10-month community-based order with supervision and program requirements including alcohol and psychological counselling. She was fined $500 and ordered to complete 30 hours of community work.