Howard Ave, Dee Why: Nikki Hunter jailed for spitting in faces of two northern beaches police officers

A young woman’s “disgusting” decision to spit in the faces of two northern beaches police officers, who were trying to check on her welfare, has ended with a stiff sentence.

Dee Why police officers were spat on and punched when they went to check on the welfare of Nikki Hunter at a flat in Howard Ave. Picture: Adam Ward

A young woman who spat in the faces of two Sydney police officers, and punched one of them in the head, has been jailed for a year.

Nikki Hunter, 20, hit one of the officers in the eye with her spittle.

While convicting Hunter of two counts of assaulting police, Manly Local Court magistrate Lisa Stapleton described the offender’s spitting attack as “disgusting”.

Ms Stapleton heard on Wednesday that the officers — one male and one female — had been called to check on Hunter’s welfare after concerns were raised in August that she was with a man who was the subject of an apprehended domestic violence order.

Uniformed officers arrived at Hunter’s flat in Howard Ave, Dee Why, where she was being housed by a non-profit organisation for homeless and at risk people.

They soon checked if the man was in the bedroom.

Manly Local Court heard on Wednesday that Nikki Hunter’s spittle landed in the right eye of one of the officers sent to a social housing unit at Dee Why. Picture: Manly Daily

Hunter, who had previously been living at Greenfield Park, near Fairfield, lunged at the officers when they tried to enter the room, according to a police fact sheet tendered in court.

She punched the female constable to the right side of her head before she “purposely spat” in the officer’s face.

Then, while being restrained, she managed to spit at the male officer “with the spittle landing in (his) right eye”.

As more officers arrived at the unit, Hunter was “lashing out and spitting in the direction of police”, the court heard.

“To prevent further police being assaulted, the hood of (Hunter’s) jumper was pulled over her head to stop her spitting,” the court heard.

Nikki Hunter had been living in accommodation provided to homeless people, or people at risk, at Dee Why. Picture: Manly Daily

Ms Stapleton said it was not part of the police employment contract that they would be spat on and made the “subject of a punch to the face”.

She added that Hunter had a previous criminal history of assaulting police.

“Her instinctive reaction is, as far as I can see, disgusting spitting and punching people in the head,” Ms Stapleton said.

Hunter’s Legal Aid solicitor told the court his client had endured a traumatic childhood and had been neglected by family members who had drug addictions.

She also had mental health issues, including a diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Hunter, who pleaded guilty to both charges, was convicted.

Ms Stapleton sentenced her to 12 months in prison, with a six-month non-parole period.