A man who spat in the face of a police officer and urinated in a police van has been given a suspended sentence.

On February 2, at around 9.55pm, G4S staff at Enniskillen Police Station requested assistance with a disorderly male at the gate to the station who had kicked the driver’s door of a car.

Jeremy McCordick (26), of Cleenish Park, Enniskillen, was restrained and became very agitated.

He appeared intoxicated, was crying, and his speech was incomprehensible, Enniskillen Magistrates Court heard on Monday.

Before this, he had approached the gate of the station with a bottle, screaming, before throwing the bottle at the gate, urinating against the wall.

He then kicked the door of a car parked in the car park of the 24-hour shop.

There was no damage caused to the car, and when police tried to speak with him, he spat in one of their faces before being arrested.

He continued to scream and would not calm down as he was brought to the South West Acute Hospital for a check-up, the court heard.

He continued to be abusive and threatening, spitting on the screen of the cell van, and urinating twice.

Myles McManus, McCordick’s solicitor, described it as an “extremely unsavoury incident” and his client was fully aware of the unsavoury nature, and he referred to the pre-sentence report that showed he was disgusted and ashamed, and he had no “animosity” towards police.

He said there was no excuse for spitting in the officer’s face, and that McCordick was intoxicated that day, having no memory of the incident, apart from waking up in a police cell.

Mr. McManus said McCordick wished to apologise for his behaviour and asked the court when considering sentencing to consider a community order, saying a previous order had worked well for McCordick, and would help him tackle his issues around substance misuse.

District Judge Alana McSorley said it was a “shameful incident” and one that met the custody threshold.

However, with McCordick’s early guilty plea, she decided not to impose an immediate sentence.

For assault on police, indecent behaviour, disorderly behaviour and criminal damage, McCordick received a three-month sentence, suspended for 12 months, and was ordered to pay £200 in compensation to the officer he spat at.