A man grabbed a police officer between the legs and called her colleague homophobic slurs.
Colin Reid seemed to be under the influence of a substance when officers visited his Fochabers home and, when he refused to put down a glass bottle, a struggle ensued.
He spat in one officer’s face and called him a “p**f” and a “p*****r”, then grabbed another between the legs and held on.
Reid, 38, appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court to admit two charges of assault, one of which was aggravated by prejudice regarding sexual orientation. He also pled guilty to a single charge of threatening or abusive behaviour.
Fiscal depute Pauline Gair said the incident occurred on November 9 when officers were called to Reid’s home on another matter.
Accused was ‘under the influence’
She said: “The accused entered the property via a rear door. He appeared under the influence of some substance, he was unsteady on his feet, his eyes were glazed and speech slurred. It was noted that he was swearing to himself under his breath.”
Mrs Gair said that Reid left the living room and returned carrying a glass bottle of beer, which the officers asked him to put down amid concerns for their own safety.
Reid, of Burnbank, refused and he ended up struggling with officers on the ground.
At this point, Reid spat at the mouth area of one officer and repeatedly called him a p**f and a p*****r, the court heard.
When the second officer attempted to restrain him “he reached around between her legs and grabbed hard on her vagina”.
The officer told him to stop but “the accused continued to hold on to her vaginal area.”
Solicitor Stephen Carty, for Reid, asked Sheriff Eilidh MacDonald to consider calling for pre-sentencing reports, which she did.
She told Reid: “These are nasty offences I’ll be considering all sentencing options.
“Assaulting police officers in this way in the course of their duty is completely unacceptable.”
