Benton Blackburn convicted of assault after slapping security at Westfield Liverpool

A cleaner slapped a security guard and threatened to kill him after he was caught making racist remarks to children and shoppers at a Westfield shopping centre.

The 51-year-old appeared at Liverpool Local Court on Thursday.

A cleaner slapped a security guard and threatened to kill him after he was caught making racist remarks to children and shoppers at a Westfield shopping centre.

Benton Gregory Blackburn, 51, appeared before Liverpool Local Court on Thursday and pleaded guilty to two counts of common assault after he hit a security guard across the head inside Woolworths at Westfield Liverpool on September 9.

Agreed facts state a Woolworths worker called security as Blackburn was yelling at children, including two teenagers, and unsettling customers outside the store.

The security guard found Blackburn yelling “I’m not on drugs I’m not on drugs” aloud in the store before approaching a man of Asian appearance and said: “Are you Vietnamese? You’re a migrant to this country?”

After multiple attempts by security to make Blackburn leave the store, he then made multiple comments to the effect of “f--k you, don’t follow me or else”.

Benton Blackburn pleaded guilty to two charges of common assault.

As Blackburn was being told to “calm down and just leave”, the security guard attempted to usher him out of the shopping centre.

“Blackburn turned around and with his right hand, open palm, hit and assaulted the guard on the left side of his head,” the facts state.

Blackburn appeared before Liverpool Local Court on Thursday.

“The guard was jerked backwards by the impact and as Blackburn hit the guard he said ‘don’t tell me to calm down’.”

Blackburn assaulted security again by slapping him with his right hand which caused the guard to drop his phone and radio to the floor before he called police.

“Blackburn continued to walk on foot while calling out ‘follow me and I’ll kill you’,” the facts state.

Police later arrested the 51-year-old and took him to Liverpool Police station where he “appeared intoxicated and showed aggressive behaviour while in custody.”

“Police offered Blackburn the opportunity to participate in an electronically recorded interview to which he replied, ‘Nope I’ll waste your time in court’,” the facts state.

Magistrate Andrew Miller said Blackburn had underlying issues related to alcohol and mental health needed to be addressed as it’s “been a slow spiral” leading to the incident.

Blackburn was convicted and sentenced to a conditional release order for 18 months.