DALLAS, May 15 (UPI) -- A man who tested positive for HIV was given a 35-year jail sentence for allegedly spitting into a Dallas police officer's eye and mouth, authorities said.

Willie Campbell, 42, was sentenced Wednesday after a Dallas County jury found him guilty of harassment of a public servant for spitting on Officer Dan Waller's face in 2006, the Dallas Morning News reported.

The Morning News said Campbell, who has been accused of spitting on fellow prisoners and police officers in the past, was being taken into police custody for public intoxication when he starting resisting arrest.

"He turns and spits. He hits me in the eye and mouth. Then he told me he has AIDS. I immediately began looking for something to flush my eyes with," Walter said.

The jury decided Campbell's saliva was considered a deadly weapon, requiring him to complete at least half his sentence before parole is a possibility, the report said.