Man who assaulted police officers in Brighton jailed after using fake identity

A man who assaulted a police officer in Brighton and gave fake identities to mask a series of outstanding crimes has been jailed, police said.

Sanmid, Singh Sidana, 28, of Taunton Road in Hounslow, London, was stopped by officers shortly after midnight in Montpelier Road, Brighton, on March 2.

A passenger in the stopped vehicle Sidana was asked to provide identification details so police could issue a ticket because he was in breach of Covid-19 regulations. He gave a fake name, claimed to be 23 and could not give an address.

When officers checked his details on the national police database, they showed a driving licence photograph which did not match Sidana's appearance. He was asked to have his fingerprints scanned and refused without being placed under arrest.

When officers attempted to arrest Sidana for his failure to co-operate, he became physically aggressive, kicking an officer and claiming to have swallowed a quantity of drugs, police said.

When he was taken to Royal Sussex County Hospital, Sidana was once again aggressive, assaulting another officer before being taken into police custody.

While in custody, he refused to provide fingerprints, a photograph or DNA and was remanded to court without establishing his identity.

Appearing at Brighton Magistrates Court on March 30, Sidana provided another false name, several dates of birth and an address.

On April 14, officers finally proved Sidana's identity with a live scan fingerprint machine, which proved he was a wanted man, failing to appear at Magistrates Courts in London and Hampshire on charges of assaulting a police officer, burglary and supplying class A drugs.

Afterwards, Sidana pleaded guilty to to assaulting an emergency worker at Brighton Magistrates' Court on April 16, still using a false identity, and was jailed.

Released from custody at HMP Lewes on April 27, Sidana was arrested again and charged by the Specialist Enforcement Unit Investigations Team on charges of perverting the course of public justice. After being remanded in custody and pleading guilty to the charge he was sentenced to 64 weeks imprisonment at Lewes Crown Court on November 19.

Tom Duffy, acting sergeant in the Specialist Enforcement Unit, said:

“Sanmid Singh Sidana wasted a huge amount of time and resources by wilfully giving a false identity under a fake name and three different dates of birth.

“Thanks to the tenacity of our officers in disproving his story and revealing his true identity, a serial offender wanted for a number of crimes has now been brought to justice.”