A man has been jailed for "vile" and "racist" abuse of a policeman while in custody.
Police custody sergeant Sanjeev Jassal said he had never experienced such hateful and personally demeaning racism as what he experienced from Stephen Gossling.
Gossling, 32, had been in police custody when his "barrage" of abuse was sparked after he was told he was to be strip-searched.
During the incident, Gossling directed "vile" and violent slurs at the sergeant, including calling him a terrorist and saying that Britain is a white country.
Gossling, of Garden Avenue, Southampton, appeared in Southampton Magistrates' Court to be sentenced for two charges of religious or racist provocation of violence.
These incidents occured in Southampton on January 26, 2026.
Speaking at the sentencing, PS Jassal said the abuse was "far beyond anything I have experienced before", and said it was "targeted hateful personal abuse that attacked me for who I was, not what I did."
Robert Salame, prosecuting, added that the defendant already had 15 convictions for 34 offences, the latest of which was in 2025.
Barry Keel, mitigating, told the court that Gossling had been failed by both the care system and the justice system, and these experiences had reinforced his views.
This included being stabbed in London by a group of black men, and several other incidents and stabbings both inside and outside of custody, including being taken hostage on one occasion.
Mr Keel said that probation had concluded that Gossling had "discriminatory views", but said that he was the "product of his upbringing".
He added that hopefully, upon hearing the impact of his words on the officer, Gossling may amend his views.
District Judge Henry George said to Gossling: "Let me be clear, your behaviour was vile and it was racist.
"I have heard about your upbringing and your mental health challenges."
He added that the defendant was on licence at the time of the offence, for threats to kill.
District Judge George sentenced Gossling to eight months in prison.
It was the maximum sentence available, when accounting for the one-third discount applied for his early guilty plea.
