A woman dragged a taxi driver from his car and assaulted him following an argument over which route to take, a court has heard.
Pauline Small, 38, reigned blows down on the Stonehaven taxi driver and also attacked police officers who were called to deal with the incident.
Small, who claimed she’d only had four glasses of wine at a dinner with work colleagues, also clambered into the car, repeatedly sounded the horn, kicked the interior and tried to operate the switches.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told she also headbutted the inside of a police van on the town’s Allardice Street.
Small, a farmworker, pleaded guilty to five charges including assaulting a taxi driver, behaving in a threatening manner and assaulting three police officers.
Accused punched taxi driver to face and body
Fiscal depute Kiril Bonavino told the court that Small asked the taxi driver to take her home before getting into an argument about the best route.
He said: “He took her back to the rank and told her to get out of his taxi.
“The accused then kicked the rear arch of the car several times before approaching the driver where she punched him to the face and body.
“She then grabbed him by his jumper and dragged him into the road.”
The court also heard that when police arrived and attempted to control Small she kicked one officer in the chest as she attempted to get her in the police van.
Small was taken to Kittybrewster Custody Suite where she then attempted to remove her clothes.
A decision was taken by officers to put her in an anti-harm suit due to her behaving in an “unsound manner”.
As officers entered the cell to put on the suit, she kicked out at one officer and called her a “fat lesbian”.
She then scratched another officer in the face, just missing her eye.
‘She thought she was in a dangerous situation’
Defence agent Michael Burnett told the court that Small had been having dinner with friends prior to getting the taxi but had only had “four glasses of wine”.
He said: “She suffers from anxiety, was under a great deal of stress and she has some mental health conditions.
“Ms Small was going home but it was not the way she was familiar with.
“She had gotten herself into quite a state and by the time the police arrived she had lost the plot.
“She then finds herself in a cell being stripped by a number of officers.
“Ms Small thought she was in a dangerous situation and ramped up her behaviour.”
Sheriff Margaret Hodge told Small: “It seems to me that you might not have been entirely in control.
“There are probably mental health problems in the background as this does seem to be out of character for you.”
Sheriff Hodge sentenced Small, of Brigstanes, Catterline, to a community payback order with six months of supervision.
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