A man has appeared in court charged with public order offences after reports that an Essex Police officer was racially abused during protest activity outside The Bell Hotel in Epping.
Darren Summerfield, 35, of Ashbury Crescent, Guildford, appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (10 February) charged with racially or religiously aggravated disorderly behaviour with intent to cause harassment, alarm or distress.
The charge relates to an incident said to have taken place during a protest outside The Bell Hotel on Sunday, 8 February.
Summerfield is also charged with using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour to cause harassment, alarm or distress in relation to a previous protest on 28 December last year.
During the hearing, Summerfield admitted the charge of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour. However, he denied the allegation of racially or religiously aggravated disorderly behaviour.
The court heard that the alleged offences stem from reports that a serving Essex Police officer was subjected to racial abuse while policing the protest.
Summerfield was released on bail with strict conditions imposed by the court. These include exclusion from the district of Epping, enforced by a GPS monitoring tag, and a prohibition on publishing material on his YouTube channel relating to The Bell Hotel.
He is due to appear at Colchester Magistrates’ Court on 12 February 2027 for trial.
In a separate development, a 49-year-old man has also been arrested on suspicion of racially or religiously aggravated disorderly behaviour. Enquiries in connection with the incident remain ongoing.
Essex Police have previously stated they will not tolerate hate-related offences and will take robust action where officers or members of the public are subjected to abuse.
Anyone with information relating to the incident is urged to contact Essex Police via their website or by calling 101, quoting the relevant incident number.
