12 weeks prison for racist drunk

A racist drunk has been jailed for 12 weeks after shouting slurs at a police officer and urinating outside a supermarket in broad daylight.

Karen O’Malley, 48, of Cecil Street in Leigh, shouted from the dock at Wigan Magistrates as she was sentenced after pleading guilty to racially aggravated harassment.

The court heard how O’Malley had been hanging around outside Tesco in Leigh, drinking cans of Skol Super Strength, and shouting “send them back”, when she was approached by a member of staff from the store who asked her to stop being racist.

After refusing to move on from the store, where she is already banned, O’Malley was reported to the police by supermarket employees.

Prosecutor Katie Beattie told magistrates: “He informed security who called police. She had been urinating in public view. PC Hadi saw her outside the store and as he got closer could see that she was clearly drunk.”

As PC Hadi approached O’Malley, who was still clutching a can of lager, she told him to “**** off” and shouted a racial slur about his ethnicity before being promptly arrested.

The court heard how a drunk O’Malley sat on the floor once she had been arrested, refusing to move, before changing her attitude when another officer turned up.

Once in the police vehicle she continued to shout racist abuse at the officers until being taken into custody.

With 129 previous offences to her name, O’Malley has already been in trouble with the law for “racially aggravating” features.

She shouted from the dock that she was assaulted by the police officer and that she “wouldn’t have any more men” assault her.

Defending O’Malley, Melissa Fagan told magistrates that she was suffering from depression and anxiety, although she was not receiving any treatment for her mental health conditions.

Ms Fagan added: “She currently resides with her long term partner. The probation service proposes that that relationship has a causal effect on her behaviour.

“She is entitled to her racist views, but she knows she is not entitled to express them in a public forum.”

Magistrates explained that due to O’Malley’s historic “failure to comply” with community orders, they were sending her to jail for 12 weeks.