A police chief has told how officers are risking their lives as they break up parties and are targeted by people ‘weaponising’ coronavirus.

John Apter, National Chair of the Police Federation, said individuals were spitting or coughing at officers and saying: ‘I’ve got Covid and I hope you die.’

He is now calling for those upholding the law at anti-lockdown protests and illegal events to be made a higher priority for Covid vaccinations.

He spoke after another busy weekend for officers, which saw 36 people handed £28,000 in fines by West Midlands Police at an illegal ‘pop up’ shisha bar.

Illegal gatherings and protests have required a significant police presence since the pandemic began.  

One officer said Covid posed more of a risk to his family than other aspects of policing, adding that ‘you don’t take someone wielding a knife home with you’, unlike the virus.

Mr Apter, who represents rank-and-file officers in England and Wales, told Metro.co.uk: ‘Before the pandemic it would have been over-dramatic to have said going into a crowd would put lives at risk.

‘But now it’s a reality. It’s a deadly virus and it’s indiscriminate. Police officers don’t have a choice, they have to go into situations where they can’t always mitigate the risk.

‘Of course they have a level of PPE but it’s sometimes not practical and in some situations people tear it off.

‘We know some officers have contracted the virus and, sadly, some officers have died of the virus. We are not immune from this horrible, wicked virus and there is a real vulnerability there.’

Protests have continuously taken place amid the pandemic. In December, a maskless crowd allegedly shouted ‘Covid is a hoax’ while gathering outside St Thomas’ Hospital in London.

Another gathering the same month attracted hundreds of people to Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester, where demonstrators described restrictions as ‘unlawful’.

Mr Apter said: ‘Police officers will always remain professional and do the best they can, but you will often find they have come from a call where someone’s died in their home, maybe of Covid, or they have been assisting paramedics in a hospital setting where they see the devastation the virus has inflicted.

‘Then they will police a situation where people are denying the virus. To see people standing outside a hospital chanting that the virus doesn’t exist while inside that very hospital people are dying can sometimes stick in the throat.

‘Police act with professionalism but they are not robots, they are human beings. It’s also frustrating because we know that where there are large scale protests, the virus will feed off that.’

Inspector Mick Woodrow, of West Midlands Police, told BBC File on 4 how he can spend entire shifts breaking up illegal gatherings, such as people crammed together at house parties.

He said: ‘It puts me at risk and it also puts my family at risk. I know police officers will say it’s part of the job but normally it’s the risk you can see.

‘You don’t take someone wielding a knife home with you. I don’t know if I’m taking Covid home with me.’

Emergency workers also face an upsurge in people ‘weaponising’ Covid.

The number of ‘spit and cough’ attacks in England and Wales rose by 74% in the first lockdown, according to figures gathered by LBC.

Mr Apter said: ‘The risk and reality of weaponising Covid was borne out in the very early days of the pandemic. Since then, there has been a significant increase in people spitting and coughing at police officers.

‘In many cases they will say to a police officer, “I have got Covid and I hope you die from it”. It’s pretty horrendous because the virus is indiscriminate.’

In London, five Met Police staff members, including a serving constable and a community support officer, are known to have died after testing positive for Covid since the pandemic began.

The evident risks have intensified calls for frontline police to be vaccinated as soon as possible.

Mr Apter said: ‘I believe very strongly thatt, once the most vulnerable in the society and the NHS have been vaccinated, police officers should be a priority because of what is expected of them.

‘I am very disappointed and disheartened that, despite the support from the Home Secretary, the Policing Minister and the chief constables, this has still not been progressed.

‘I know it’s contentious for some but my colleagues are expected to get up close and personal with people and there is a vulnerability there.

‘They also need the courts to be more consistent in dealing with people who have been charged with attacking police officers. In some cases the sentence is an insult to the victim, and that is the police officer.

‘We need to be at a place where the victim is at the heart of everything the criminal justice system does, not the offender.’

Mr Apter stressed that the vast majority of people are law-abiding citizens who were following the social distancing and ‘stay at home’ advice.  

He said: ‘You can’t just fine your way out of this problem. The vast majority are complying with the rules and it’s about the messaging from the Government, NHS and others.

‘We have to make it socially unacceptable, which I believe it already is, to put other people at risk with the virus.’

A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘Our brave police officers have gone above and beyond during the pandemic, and it’s despicable they face threats or violence – we will not stand for it.

‘The Government is bringing forward legislation to double the maximum sentences for these disgusting assaults and we expect the courts to use the full force of the powers available to them. We are also introducing a Police Covenant, a transparent, binding pledge for the Government to ensure better support to police officers, staff and their families.

‘The current vaccine priority list is produced by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. We recognise the vital role that the police continue to play in the pandemic, but it is down to the JCVI to make formal decisions on vaccinations.’

Speaking during Monday’s press conference, the Health Secretary promised that police officers aged over 50 would be placed in the current phase of vaccinations.

Matt Hancock said: ‘We have ensured, through the clinical advice that we’ve taken, that the vaccine roll-out goes through those who are most at risk first.

‘So, any police officer who is aged over 50 will be part of the initial JCVI 1-9 group roll-out. After that, we will then look at what order we go next, and we will consider questions of professions with greater contact with people, and the impact of the vaccine on transmission.’

The Crown Prosecution Service has pursued cases under Covid-19 legislation and introduced a ‘coronavirus flag’ on its system to highlight aggravating factors related to the pandemic.

Max Hill QC, Director of Public Prosecutions, has described assaults on emergency workers as ‘appalling’ and pledged to do everything in his power to protect those ‘who so selflessly keep us safe’.

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