A Tik Tok star was cleared of obstructing a police officer – when the constable failed to turn up at court.
Harrison Sullivan, 20, who has more than 900,000 followers on the social media site, was said to have got in the way of officers in New Inn Hall Street, central Oxford, on April 2.
The officers were attempting to arrest Sullivan’s friend, who could be seen on a video posted to the defendant’s YouTube account repeatedly flashing his buttocks at the police officers.
Sullivan had earlier been arrested on suspicion of drink driving, although was released after passing a breathalyser test, the video claimed.
The video – entitled 'The Feds Pepper Sprayed Us For Moving Loose' and viewed 664,000 times online – showed Sullivan being loaded into the back of a police van, telling the officers apparently in reference to the supposed size of his appendage: “I ain’t got nothing on me apart from my nine inch wood.”
In the YouTube footage, both Sullivan and the friend appeared to have been sprayed with pepper spray by the officers.
Sullivan, of Pine Crescent, Brentwood, pleaded not guilty to obstruction when he was first before the justices in May.
He returned to Oxford Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday morning for his trial on the single charge.
However, when the police officer he allegedly obstructed, a PC Browne, failed to attend court, the Crown prosecutor was forced to offer no evidence and District Judge Kamlesh Rana dismissed the case.
In a video message posted to his Instagram account following the hearing, Sullivan said from outside the Speedwell Street courthouse: “Alright, so I just got out of court for that obstruction charge from that d***head [officer].”
Turning to his solicitor, seen in the video wearing a three-piece suit, he said: “Tell them what happened.”
“Not guilty,” the lawyer added, raising his index finger to the lens.
Sullivan added: “Not guilty. Nothing. F***ing hell, thank f*** for that. Not even a fine. Come on.”
In a text overlay of the video, he claimed that the prosecution had 'bare tried to stick it on me' to 'get me three months behind bars'.
The maximum sentence for a single count of obstructing a police officer is, in fact, one month.
The Oxford Mail approached Thames Valley Police to ask for an explanation for the officer’s non-attendance at court. The force has not responded to a request for comment.
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This story was written by Tom Seaward. He joined the team in 2021 as Oxfordshire's court and crime reporter.
To get in touch with him email: Tom.Seaward@newsquest.co.uk
Follow him on Twitter: @t_seaward
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