Man jailed after Metrocentre and Newcastle Police attacks

A Northumberland man who bit one police officer on the arms before sinking his teeth into another officer’s neck inside a Newcastle custody suite has been jailed for 30 months.

Joseph Bramley, 33, of Bradley Road, Prudhoe, was sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court after being found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and assault by beating. The case centred on two violent incidents on the same day, beginning at the Metrocentre in Gateshead and ending at Forth Banks Police Station in Newcastle.

The court heard that Bramley was first stopped on November 19 last year after an officer recognised him as someone wanted for failing to appear at court. When the officer tried to detain him, Bramley attempted to get away and became aggressive.

He removed his jacket after the officer took hold of it, but the officer then grabbed the hooded top he was wearing underneath. As the struggle continued, Bramley bit the officer on both forearms and made a series of threatening comments.

Prosecutors said he told the officer he knew where he lived and threatened to go to his home. The officer later needed hospital checks because of the injuries and the risk of infection from the bites.

Attack continued inside Newcastle custody suite.

After the incident at the Metrocentre, Bramley was taken to Forth Banks Police Station in Newcastle. It was there that the second attack happened while he was being held in custody.

Newcastle Crown Court heard that an officer told Bramley not to keep placing a blanket over his head because of safety concerns. Bramley reacted by swearing at the officer and pushing him backwards with both hands, causing him to lose his balance.

The situation then escalated sharply. Bramley bit the officer on the neck, broke the skin and refused to release his grip. In a victim impact statement, the officer said he feared that if he tried to pull himself away, Bramley could have taken part of his neck with him because the bite was so tight.

Other officers rushed in to help and managed to remove Bramley from the officer. The injured officer went to Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary, where he was checked over because of the human bite mark to the side of his neck.

Court told officer feared serious injury.

Jennifer Coxon, prosecuting, told the court that both officers required hospital attention after the attacks. Human bites can be particularly concerning because of the bacteria found in the mouth, and NHS guidance says medical help may be needed when a bite breaks the skin or shows signs of infection.

NICE guidance on human and animal bites also highlights that clinicians may need to consider tetanus and blood-borne virus risks after a human bite, which explains why officers involved in cases like this are sent for medical checks.

The court heard that the violence was not a brief loss of temper but a sustained and alarming response to officers carrying out their duties. Bramley had been wanted by the court system, then resisted arrest, made threats and later attacked again while in custody in Newcastle.

The case comes amid wider concern about assaults on police officers. Police Federation figures published in 2025 said there were 48,888 assaults on UK police officers in the previous year, an average of 134 assaults a day. Separate Metropolitan Police data recorded more than 6,000 physical assaults on officers in each of the financial years 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25.

Judge condemns violence at Newcastle Crown Court.

Katie Spence, defending, urged the judge to consider suspending the prison sentence. She told the court that Bramley had previously worked full time as a chef and had been using those skills while in prison.

She said he wanted to return to work as a chef or kitchen porter after his release and argued that the public might be better served if he were supervised in the community by the probation service. She added that Bramley said he had learned his lesson.

Recorder Toby Hedworth rejected that approach and told Bramley that his behaviour had been completely unreasonable. Addressing the first incident, he said the officer at the Metrocentre had acted professionally and reasonably throughout, but Bramley had been out of control.

The judge said the biting and violent threats made towards the officer were serious. Turning to the attack at Forth Banks Police Station, he said he had watched video footage showing Bramley pushing the officer almost out of the cell door before stepping forward and clamping his jaw into the officer’s neck.

He described the attack as an alarming use of violence and said a number of officers had to intervene to get Bramley off the victim.

Bramley, who appeared by video link from Durham prison, was sentenced to 30 months behind bars.

Why the Newcastle case matters.

The case will be troubling for many readers across Newcastle, Gateshead and Northumberland because it shows how quickly routine police work can turn dangerous. What began as an arrest for failing to appear at court ended with two officers needing hospital checks and one fearing he could suffer a severe neck injury.

Forth Banks Police Station is one of the most recognisable police sites in Newcastle city centre, and cases heard at Newcastle Crown Court often highlight the pressures faced by officers across the Northumbria Police area. While the public often sees only the end result of an arrest or court case, this hearing gave a much clearer picture of the violence officers can face during ordinary shifts.

Bramley’s sentence also sends a firm message about attacks on emergency workers. Courts can treat assaults on police officers as particularly serious because officers are carrying out a public duty, often in unpredictable and confrontational situations.

In this case, the judge made it clear that the requests made by police were reasonable, both at the Metrocentre and inside the Newcastle custody suite. Bramley’s response, he said, was excessive, violent and frightening.

For the officers involved, the consequences went beyond the immediate pain of the bites. They had to attend hospital, undergo checks and deal with the anxiety that comes with a human bite breaking the skin. The court heard that the neck bite was so forceful the officer feared what might happen if he tried to pull away.

The 30-month sentence means Bramley will now serve time in custody for violence that started in Gateshead and ended behind the doors of a Newcastle police station.

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