A “vicious” attacker who caused a policeman six months of memory loss and left a taxi driver unable to work for a month has been jailed.
Thomas Stewart ruined the second chance given to him by a sheriff who had said he would avoid prison time if he proved he could behave himself.
But the 28-year-old reoffended before returning to the dock to be sentenced for punching a taxi driver and headbutting a police officer in September last year.
Inverness Sheriff Court heard that the constable suffered life-changing injuries while Stewart resisted arrest as he tried to apprehend him for assaulting the taxi driver.
Sheriff Eilidh Macdonald told Stewart: “These were two serious assaults with serious consequences for both of your victims.
“It was vicious and violent. I chose to give you an opportunity but you did not take that opportunity. You offended after I deferred sentence”.
Jail sentence
Stewart had appeared from custody while serving a jail sentence for a different matter.
His defence solicitor Neil Wilson said his client realised a custodial sentence was likely but asked the court to impose a restriction of liberty order instead.
Mr Wilson added: “When things get on top of him, he drinks too much and gets into trouble.
“He has not wasted his time in prison, has sought help within a voluntary programme and has written a letter of apology.”
But the sheriff said that handing Stewart a curfew and monitoring him with a tag would be an insufficient punishment.
She told Stewart, of Druid Road in Inverness, that he would have to spend more time behind bars and sentenced him to 13 months in jail.
Headbutted Pc fell to the ground
Stewart’s taxi driver victim had stopped at the junction of Culduthel Road and Old Edinburgh Road because he was standing in the middle of the road, shouting at the car in front.
Fiscal depute David Morton told an earlier hearing that Stewart then turned his attention to the cab when the other vehicle drove around him.
“He opened the door and repeatedly punched the driver on the face. He then grabbed his jacket and threw it on the ground.
“The driver had swelling to his right eye and a cut nose.
“He suffered from blurred vision and floaters in his eyes, and because it was unsafe for him to drive, he was off work for a month,” Mr Morton explained.
Police were called and Stewart was later found on nearby Mayfield Road.
“Stewart was told he was under arrest but he pulled back and headbutted the constable who was able to call for assistance before falling to the ground semi-conscious.”
Mr Morton added that Stewart was arrested after an incapacitant spray was used on him.
The injured constable had a CT scan which revealed a concussion, the after-effects of which are still ongoing, the court was told.
“He returned to work in March this year but can’t recall his day-to-day life for six months after the assault”, Mr Morton said.
‘Frustration, upset and despair’
Stewart admitted carrying out both attacks in the Highland capital on September 25 last year.
He pled guilty to assaulting the officer to his injury and permanent impairment, and repeatedly punching and injuring the taxi driver.
Stewart’s police officer victim missed a month of work, continued to experience recurring headaches, was signed off work twice and had to be phased back into duties.
Nine months after the ordeal, the Pc told the Press and Journal that he was still living with post-concussion syndrome.
“The part of my brain that was injured affects my personality, my memory, my concentration, which were all issues that I was struggling with”, the dad-of-two said.
“I’m still suffering headaches from time to time and the simplest of things that were trivial before the headbutt, like multi-tasking, are now challenging.
“I feel a lot of frustration, upset and despair knowing that this headbutt has affected and changed me.
“I feel sadness at the memory of what I was and what I was able to do, but also determination that it’s not going to hold me back.
“I will build myself up to be the person and officer that I was.”
Doctors have assured the policeman that he will make a full recovery sometime in the future but medics couldn’t be sure of when that would be.
