Lavington man refused to 'put out his ciggie' or take preliminary breath test

She managed to get Nathan John Briggs off her, but his foul-mouthed aggression had her convinced she was about to be punched.

"You've just assaulted a police officer, mate," she told the Lavington man, who later failed a blood alcohol test with a reading of 0.069.

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Minutes later, after getting off the roadway in Jacaranda Street, West Albury, he threatened the officer again.

"That's it, you're f *** ing going down, b**ch," he said.

The assault and his general bad behaviour was slammed by magistrate Richard Funston when Briggs, 39, of Parkview Crescent, fronted Albury Local Court.

Mr Funston said he was "absolutely horrified" by the assault on the officer, who was working on her own.

"If he treats a policewoman like this, how does he treat other people in the community? The behaviour is absolutely appalling, absolutely appalling," he said.

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Briggs pleaded guilty to assaulting police. escaping police custody and two charges of resisting police over the incident on April 8.

The court was told the officer was on patrol in a marked NSW Highway Patrol car about 2.50pm when she saw a silver Nissan four-wheel-drive heading south on Cassia Street.

She pulled over the vehicle in Jacarandah Street to give the driver a random breath test, but before she could do so Briggs got out and approached her driver's door.

Briggs ignored repeated requests to get back in his car and to also move away from the police vehicle "for safety reasons".

Thereafter he subjected the officer to aggressive and abusive behaviour, trying to film her on his mobile phone and refusing her direction to put out his cigarette.

"No, I'm finishing my ciggie," he yelled at her.

"You pulled me over when I was smoking a dart. I'm finishing me (sic) dart, darling."

Defence lawyer Mitchell Irwin said Briggs was "not a man who's ... going out looking for trouble".

Briggs was placed on an 18-month, supervised community corrections order.

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