From Exulansic:
Unbelieveable. In an era of COVID, ebola, and other deadly bodily fluid-borne pathogens, intentional spitting is clearly assault with a deadly weapon. This justifies the use of a non-lethal weapon in response, including her use of the sign as well as her initial use of mace. The man who intervened to mace her and not the assailant was clearly not justified in macing her. Her use of mace against this second assailant was clearly also justified. If his use of mace blinded her and caused her spray to hit a bystander, that is still the fault of the two men who were not justified in initiating this violent exchange of force.
And I agree.
In England and Wales, deliberately spitting on someone is classed as battery under the common assault category of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. Corresponding legislation has been enacted covering Scotland and Northern Ireland. Battery is the application of unlawful force, and as well as spitting, covers incidents of pushing and slapping. Spitting, if done deliberately, is seen as an assault. Common assault carries a maximum penalty of six months in prison and/or a fine or community order. A prison sentence is generally reserved for cases where serious mental or physical injury was caused, and higher culpability is present. In other cases, a fine and community order is the more likely outcome. The offender will have higher culpability if they have previous convictions or there are aggravating factors, such as the attack being racially motivated, the assault was premeditated, or the victim was vulnerable. Increased penalties are being considered for offences aggravated by the intention to cause serious harm, such as disease transmission or the fear of it.
Emergency workers, and public transport staff (e.g. bus drivers), are issued with 'spit kits' so they can take a sample if they are spat on (or spat at, and it lands elsewhere and can be collected), and this has secured arrests and convictions by use of DNA analysis.
This is also true in US common law:
It is an assault at common law when any person intentionally, or recklessly, by active conduct threatens to apply unlawful physical force to the person of another in such a manner as to create in the mind of that other an apprehension that such force is about to be so applied.
Like this shithead.