Coronavirus: Man tasered after deliberately coughing at police officers and claiming he had Covid-19

Metropolitan Police officers have tasered a man who deliberately coughed at them and claimed he was infected with coronavirus.

The force’s firearms command said on Twitter the suspect walked up to officers who were sat in a car in Haringey, north London, and “shouted that he had coronavirus before deliberately coughing saliva all over them”.

Officers said he then began to physically attack them and was tasered and arrested.

He later tested negative for Covid-19.

Haringey Police later tweeted: “This is the sad reality of what your front-liners are faced with. This will not be tolerated.

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“Thank you MPS Firearms for your assistance with this individual, we appreciate your help.”

The public was warned last week by Max Hill, director of public prosecutions, that using coronavirus as a threat against emergency workers would be treated as a crime carrying a punishment of up to two years in prison.

Deliberately coughing at other key workers, including supermarket staff, could be prosecuted as a common assault which could lead up to six months in prison.