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An HIV-positive man was sentenced to 35 years in prison on
Wednesday for spitting in the mouth and eye of a police officer.
Back in 2006, Willie Campbell, 42, of Dallas, spit in the face of Officer Dan
Waller, who was arresting him for public intoxication, prosecutor said,
according to local newspaper Dallas Morning News. He also spit at two other
officers.
"He turns and spits. He hits me in the eye and mouth. Then he told me he
has AIDS. I immediately began looking for something to flush my eyes
with," Waller said during his testimony.
Campbel’s lawyer, Russel Henrichs said on Thursday that,
during the trial, his client denied that he had resisted arrest or spit at an
officer.
Campbell
was found him guilty of harassment of a public servant and was sentenced to 35
years in prison. The jury decided his saliva was like a deadly weapon. Campbel
won’t be eligible for parole until he’s served half his sentence, the paper
said.
“I know it sounds cliché, but this is why you lock someone
up, so our streets are safer. Without him out here, our streets are a safer
place,” Waller added.
The good news is that none of the three officer attacked by Campbell contracted HIV.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “contact
with saliva, tears or sweat has never been shown to result in transmission of
HIV.”
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