A mother who took drugs to help her sleep fought a street battle with police officers who she falsely believed were kidnappers who had come to murder and bury, a court heard.
Ashleigh Marsh, 26, spotted a shovel in the boot of their patrol car and started flailing her arms around, believing she had fallen into the clutches of a kidnap gang posing as police officers.
She kicked one female constable known only as PC Potter in the chest before kicking out at other officers as they overpowered her after they were called to her house in Cheshire following reports of erratic behaviour.
Later, when she was being interviewed, the 26-year-old mother admitted she had taken an undisclosed drug two days earlier after suffering a bout of sleepless nights, but denied having any mental health issues.
There was no suggestion in court that they were illegal drugs.
At Chester Magistrates’ court, she pleaded guilty to assaulting a constable in the execution of their duty.
Heather Bell, prosecuting, explained how on May 25, police officers received several calls about Marsh ‘acting erratically, screaming and shouting in the street’ and ‘running up and down saying “Who is there?”‘.
Police rushed to the scene and she was assessed by paramedics, who urged her to go to hospital for observation – but she refused to go.
Ms Bell said: ‘She wanted to stay at her mother’s house but there were children there and it was not appropriate for her to stay there due to her erratic behaviour.
‘She was walked to the police vehicle but as she got in she started being extremely irate and became convinced the officers were trying to kill her.
‘She seems to have seen a shovel in the boot and thought that they were going to kill her and bury her.
‘They were taking her out of the police vehicle when the defendant put her left foot into the chest of PC Potter.
‘At that point, they removed her from the car and took her to the floor. She continued to resist arrest and kicked out with her legs at the officers. I could not see any injuries mentioned.
‘In an interview, the defendant denied any mental health problems but admitted taking drugs on the Sunday prior to the incident. She said sorry for the assault. She said she genuinely believed that they were not the police and were going to kill her and bury her.’
There is no suggestion that Marsh took illegal drugs and and was conditionally discharged for 12 months and ordered to pay £111 in costs and a surcharge. There were no reports of any injuries.
Defending Marsh, who has no prior convictions, Catherine Davies said officers were trying to get her from the property into the police car when the incident broke out.
She said: ‘She saw a shovel in the back of the police car and became extremely upset and scared as she believed the officers were trying to kill her.
‘She was questioning why they had a shovel in the boot and she then began to flail around.
‘Because she was flailing, the police officer said herself it looked like she was in fight or flight mode.
‘In that process she kicked out recklessly, not in an intentional manner, but in a reckless way due to her being absolutely petrified.
‘She did apologise to the officer and said she did not mean to hurt anyone. She provided a full account in the interview, and in fact she did actually say that she had mental health issues – but it was only after the interview.’
She was conditionally discharged for 12 months and ordered to pay £111 in costs and a surcharge. There were no reports of any injuries.
The court heard her eldest daughter has severe learning disabilities, which Miss Davies argued puts ‘pressure on the family, and they cannot have a normal family day out.
‘Miss Marsh finds it really, really hard to cope, and as a result of that, she struggled with sleep.
‘On that weekend, there was a buildup of emotions and a decline in her mental health.
‘She has never behaved like this before. It was completely out of character. It was just all far too much.
‘She could not cope any more. She is a young lady feeling very lost at the moment.
‘She did not deliberately hit out. She was having a crisis.’
Sentencing Marsh JP Alf Bean said: ‘It is unfortunate that you now find yourself before the court. You have lost your good character – you have blotted your copybook. ‘
