Dingwall man tells Inverness court he spat on police officer as ‘protest’
A police officer was spat on by a man that he and two colleagues had gone to arrest on a warrant.
Charles Maclennan (40) of Hill Street, Dingwall, claimed he was acting in self defence because, he told Inverness Sheriff Court, the police were being "heavy-handed" with him.
However Sheriff Sara Matheson rejected his version of events after hearing from two of the constables involved in lifting Maclennan on the night of December 13, 2023.
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They told the court that Maclennan was being "difficult" and had to be handcuffed to the rear as they took him from his bedroom to a police van parked outside.
The court heard Maclennan was resisting being placed in the vehicle but they denied his assertion that he was in pain due to the way he was taken out of the flat.
They also discounted his claim that they had slammed him against the police van.
In evidence, Maclennan admitted spitting on one officer but insisted it was the only thing he could do to object to his arrest and the way he said he was being treated.
Sheriff Matheson convicted him of the assault but found the charge of him shouting, swearing and behaving in a threatening manner not proven as one of the officers could not be specific about what Maclennan was saying during the incident.
She fined Maclennan £600 but as he is on remand for a jury trial in March next year she gave him no time to pay and the alternative of 28 days imprisonment was imposed.
