A drunk man who had fallen over in the street made homophobic comments and spat at police officers who helped him to his feet.
Officers had already removed Cornelius Stevenson, 35, from a property, when they saw he had fallen on Grant Street in Inverness.
But when they went to his aid, Stevenson called one officer a p***, and while he was receiving treatment at the police station, he spat in the officers’ faces.
Stevenson appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court to plead guilty to a charge of threatening or abusive behaviour with an aggravation relating to sexual orientation, as well as two charges of assault.
Fiscal depute Pauline Gair told the court that the incident took place in the early hours of June 14 of this year.
She said police were called to an address in India Street to deal with another matter involving the accused.
‘Intoxicated’ man fell over in street
Stevenson was removed from the property but only made it a short distance before he fell over on Grant Street, “due to him being intoxicated”.
Mrs Gair said: “The police officers helped him to his feet but the accused started shouting.
He called one of the officers a “p***” and a “p**** b******”.
Stevenson was warned to stop but made comments about one of the officer’s “p**** haircut”.
He was detained and taken to Burnett Road police station where officers restrained him while he received treatment from the custody nurse.
During this process, Stevenson turned to face one officer and spat directly at his face.
A spit hood was applied but then removed to allow treatment to continue.
Stevenson then turned and spat directly in the face of the other officer.
Spit landed on officer’s glasses
“The spit landed on the right lens of her glasses,” Mrs Gair told the court.
Solicitor Roger Webb told the court that his client was already subject to a community payback order and had recently received a short but positive progress report.
He said the 35-year-old had moved “away from the area where he has committed the bulk of his offending” and was now in employment and in a relationship.
“Both of those things are remarkable,” he added.
Sheriff Sara Matheson deferred sentence for the preparation of reports and told Stevenson, of Gladstone Avenue in Dingwall, there is an “opportunity to show that you have made progress”.
She also told him: “You will know that, with your record, this is still very much hanging over you”.
The case will call for sentencing next month.
