A woman with severe psychological problems has been jailed after she threw a cup of scalding hot tea in a police officer’s face – leaving her with permanent scarring.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard how Michelle Quinn, 38, was offered the hot drink to calm her down following an arrest but instantly tossed the cup of boiling sugary tea into the female officer’s face and eyes.
It resulted in the officer needing to be treated at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary’s burns clinic.
The court heard how the female sergeant had to take months off work and was left with blisters that had to be cut from her face and scarring on her eyeball.
The assault also left the woman permanently disfigured.
Quinn pleaded guilty to two assault charges involving the policewoman and a shop worker.
She also faced an additional charge that she attempted to snatch a woman’s purse on Victoria Road in Aberdeen on September 20 this year.
‘Sugary tea’ stuck to officer’s face and eye
Fiscal depute Alison Reid told the court Quinn had been arrested after she repeatedly punched and kicked an employee at the Key Store Express on Summerfield Terrace, Aberdeen on August 29 last year.
Following her arrest, she was taken to Kittybrewster Police Station where she continued to be hostile to police officers and was taken to a cell.
Ms Reid said: “During discussions with officers, the accused appeared to have calmed down and she was offered a cup of tea to help her settle.
“The accused was handed a cup of sugary tea by the sergeant. She immediately threw this at the officer, causing it to splash on her face.
“The sugar from the tea stuck to her face and eye.
“The female sergeant was pulled from the cell by a colleague and immediately washed her face.
“She immediately noticed that her face was red where she had been struck by the tea and her left eye and the skin surrounding it was irritated and stinging.
“The sergeant suffered a significant burn that blistered.”
The fiscal depute told the court the officer was off work for two months following Quinn’s assault and had to make numerous appointments at an opticians and the ARI burns unit.
She was left with burn scarring to the eyeball that affected her vision and caused her to see “black spots”.
Ms Reid also said the officer will have to apply creams twice a day for the next 12 months and that the assault had left her with scarring to her face.
Accused has been ‘used and abused throughout her life’, solicitor says
Defence agent Alex Burn told the court that Quinn suffered from “serious mental health issues” and had been diagnosed as schizophrenic.
He added that her consumption of alcohol and drugs also played a part in her crimes as it usually coincided with her going off her medication.
Mr Burn said: “She had been taking alcohol and drugs to block out things that happened to her in her childhood and she was taken into care at eight years old.
“She has been used and abused and it has been like that throughout her life.
“She has been pushed from pillar to post and has been exposed to alcohol and drugs from a young age.
“Ms Quinn apologises to the police officer and she feels terrible about what happened – she wasn’t thinking right.”
Sheriff Morag McLaughlin told the 38-year old that her “hands were indeed tied” and that she “couldn’t follow the recommendation of the report” which advised a community disposal.
She sentenced Quinn, of Victoria Road, Aberdeen, to 18 months in prison.
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