Thug attacked three police officers at Inverness takeaway
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A fisherman who punched and kicked police officers in an Inverness diner has been warned he faces jail if he appears at court again on similar charges.
Inverness Sheriff Court heard officers had to use pepper spray to restrain 22-year-old Scott Mackenzie during the fracas that started at Max’s Takeaway in the city’s Lombard Street because he was so strong.
Sheriff Chris Dickson was told Mackenzie, who had previous convictions for police assault, punched two officers on the head, breaking glasses belonging to one of them and leaving the other with a small cut.
He kicked a third officer on the legs as he struggled while being placed in a police van.
Depute fiscal Alex Swain said the incident happened on December 8.
Mackenzie was acting aggressively while in the diner, he said, alarming other customers.
“So much so one customer fled to the High Street and informed a police officer of the accused’s behaviour,” she said.
The court was told that when the first officer arrived Mackenzie was lying on the floor shouting and swearing.
“The officer approached the accused to try and calm him down, at which point he punched him on the face knocking off his glasses,” she said.
Mackenzie’s aggressive behaviour continued as the other two officers arrived leading to the decision to deploy pepper spray to subdue him before he was handcuffed.
When interviewed later, he told officers he did not remember anything about the incident.
Defence solicitor Graham Mann said Mackenzie had two convictions for the same kind of behaviour and added: “It appears his drinking, which is excessive on occasion, leads to police having to intervene.
“He has no excuse and draws the correlation between this trouble and his drinking.”
Mackenzie, of Woodlands Court, Inverness, admitted three charges of police assault.
Sheriff Dickson said they were serious offences against police officers just doing their job.
“You have previous convictions for offences against police and custody is a consideration for the court.”
He told him that he was persuaded not to jail him this time but warned him he would be imprisoned if he appeared in court for a similar offence again.
He placed him on social work supervision for a year and ordered him to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work and pay £350 in compensation to his victims.
