A former senior police officer has gone on trial accused of striking a junior female member of staff while at work.
Kevin Hird, a retired Aberdeen detective inspector, is alleged to have hit 26-year-old Sarah Tortolano on the back of the head while working at Queen Street Police Station – the north-east’s police headquarters at the time.
During the trial, Ms Tortolano, now 28, told Aberdeen Sheriff Court that she was “shocked” and “really scared” by the incident.
Hird, 53, does not deny that there was contact but claims there was no evil intent and that he was joking at the time, the court was told.
Ms Tortolano, who was working as a communications data investigator for the force, said she was coming back from the toilet on January 30 2020 when Hird hit her “across the back of the head” in a corridor.
She claimed the officer then raised his hands in the air and said “assault, assault”.
Hird, whose address was given on court papers as Queen Street Station, denies assaulting the woman by striking her on the back of the head with his hand.
Fiscal depute Rebecca Thompson quizzed Ms Tortolano about an incident earlier that day in which she claimed that Hird had stated that a police document would have “gone over the heads” of her and another female colleague.
“I thought it was a sexist remark,” she said.
Ms Tortolano later said that following the alleged assault she felt “intimidated” due to Hird being a high-ranking police officer.
“I felt there was a hierarchy, even though he wasn’t my direct boss, and that Detective Inspector Hird was far more superior than I was,” she said.
“I liked my job, but I felt that it had just crossed a lot of boundaries.”
She added that she felt that if she reported the incident “nothing would get done”.
“He was a lot higher than me and it might be quite bad for me to report it,” she added.
Ms Tortolano – who no longer works for Police Scotland – claimed she suffered from lingering head pain, a headache and anxiety as a result of the alleged assault.
She also said that after the incident she entered police headquarters via a side door to avoid Hird.
‘Essentially what he did was tap you on the back of the head’
During cross-examination defence agent Paul Barnett suggested that although Hird did make contact with her head, he didn’t mean any harm.
“Essentially what he did was tap you on the back of the head with his hand while holding a document and it was done in good spirits,” he said.
Ms Tortolano replied: “It was in a workplace. No one has ever made contact with me while in the workplace.
“I would say that it was forceful and he wasn’t holding documents – that’s not acceptable.
“I find it hard to believe it was done to not cause any harm.”
The trial, before Sheriff Andrew Miller, was adjourned until November.
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