Inverness Sheriff Court hears how Patrick Wallace was sprayed by incapacitant as he wrestled with police officers
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An incapacitant spray had to be used twice to stop an Inverness man wrestling with police officers in a bid to stop the arrest of his brother.
Inverness Sheriff Court was told that 46-year-old Patrick Wallace of the city’s Rosehaugh Road had allowed officers to enter his property on January 4 last year to speak to his brother.
However, when an arrest was about to be made, Wallace reacted and pushed one officer.
The constable pushed Wallace away but he continued to struggle and struck the policeman on the face with his hand.
Fiscal depute Ruraidh Allison told Sheriff Robert Macdonald: “He had to be sprayed twice with PAVA spray, which entered his eyes and mouth.”
Wallace, who admitted a charge of obstructing police in the course of their duties as well as a range of previous convictions, was represented by solicitor Clare Russell.
She told the court: “His offending has all but stopped and this was a blip.
“He has turned his life around.
“Matters deteriorated after he let the police in because he felt they were being heavy-handed.
“His partner, who is slightly built and only five stone, fell downstairs during the incident.”
Handing down a fine of £380 to Wallace, Sheriff Macdonald acknowledged: “For the last 15 years or more you have largely kept out of trouble.”
