Yeovil mother who abused Polish taxi driver admitted she was drunk and had taken cocaineLesley Palmer, 47, of White Mead, pleaded guilty before Yeovil magistrates to using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress and the offence was racially aggravated.
A YEOVIL mother who hurled racist abuse at a Polish taxi driver in an argument over the cost of a fare admitted she was drunk and had taken cocaine.
Lesley Palmer was with her son Jamie when they ordered a taxi to collect them from an address in Westfield Grove.
Her son started being abusive to the driver accusing him of “robbing” him over their fare and started being racist.
When Palmer tried to intervene and told her son to stop she then punched the window of the taxi and kicked the front of the car several times shouting “I will f***ing kill you.”
When police were called to the scene she tried to tried to calm her son down and move him away but was arrested for using racist abuse.
Palmer, 47, of White Mead, pleaded guilty to using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress and the offence was racially aggravated.
She was given an 18 month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £50 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.
Courtney Daley, prosecuting, said the taxi driver was called to an address at 12.30am to pick up a male and female and when they arrived the defendant’s son was agitated and appeared to have taken drugs.
“Palmer was trying to calm him down after he accused the taxi driver of robbing them when told about the fare,” she said.
“She was telling her son to stop and the driver told them to get out of the car and then locked the door.
“Palmer then punched the window and kicked the front of the car a number of times and said “I will f***ing kill you” and when the police arrived they could hear shouting and Palmer was trying to move her son away.
“Both Palmer and her son started shouting at the officer saying “those Polish c***s” and were both drunk.”
Following a further incident between the defendant’s son and the police he ran off but Palmer was arrested for a public order offence.
When the defendant was interviewed by police she said she could not recall the incident as she was extremely drunk and had also taken cocaine.
She said she may have been shouting and swearing but could not remember using any racist language.
Michaela Rose, defending, said that it was Palmer who was trying to calm her son and the situation down.
“It seems that it was the police presence which upset my client and triggered her behaviour after there had been a falling out with the taxi driver regarding the cost of the fare,” she explained.
“She did not feel her son had done anything wrong and when the police arrived he was immediately treated as a suspect which caused her distress and she then started shouting and swearing.”
She added that Palmer was suffering from extreme depression and had gone to a family barbecue after not seeing her son for some time.
“She consumed alcohol and unfortunately accepts that because she had been drinking she put herself in this situation and was just trying to be protective towards her son.
“She is also very embarrassed about making reference to the Polish as she has a number of Polish friends and understands the impact it would have had on the victim.”
Read more:
http://www.westerngazette.co.uk/Yeovil- ... z3Gqvz9h7H
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