A man who was caught carrying a knife after threatening to rip a police officer’s heart out and knock their head off has been jailed.
Daniel Harkness also hurled ableist, homophobic, racist and sectarian slurs at police, Inverness Sheriff Court was told.
The sheriff who sent the 46-year-old to prison for a year branded Harkness a “perennial pain” to the authorities.
He previously appeared in the dock and pled guilty to two charges of threatening or abusive behaviour and another charge of carrying a knife.
At the earlier hearing, fiscal depute Robert Weir told the court one incident took place at around 6.45am on November 21 last year.
Daniel Harkness: ‘If I had my way I would rip your heart out’
Mr Weir said Harkness was in a police van on Station Road, Maryburgh on its way to Burnett Road police station in Inverness at the time.
“The accused began to shout and swear at officers in an aggressive manner. He was continuously spitting within the cell in the van.”
Harkness made derogatory remarks towards the officers including ableist, homophobic and racial slurs, Mr Weir said.
When he arrived at the police station, Harkness was left alone with one officer.
He told them: “If I had my way I would rip my hand down your throat and rip your heart out” – adding: “I would knock your head off your shoulders.”
Harkness was later searched by officers who recovered a knife – described as both a “dinner knife” and a “piece of cutlery” – from the lining of his jacket, which was tucked into the belt of his trousers.
For that incident, sentencing was deferred for the preparation of reports.
‘When intoxicated by alcohol, he seems to be aggressive and abusive’
However, before the case could be called again, Harkness landed back in the dock to answer for an incident on September 8 of this year.
On that occasion, Mr Weir told the court, police were sent to Harkness’ home following reports of a disturbance,
As Harkness was arrested, he began to shout and swear at officers, calling them a “big black b******”, “dirty f***ing f****t b******s”, a “f***ing d***” and a “f***ing p***”.
He also threatened to assault officers but was restrained.
Defence solicitor Marc Dickson said his client suffered from problems with his physical and mental health, which he self-medicated with alcohol.
“He has no particular issue with people who are either of a different colour to him or indeed of a different sexual orientation to him,” Mr Dickson claimed.
“When intoxicated by alcohol, he seems to be aggressive and abusive.”
‘You are just a perennial pain in the side of police’
Mr Dickson said that Harkness had offered apologies for his actions and was “genuinely remorseful for the way he behaved”.
He added: “The root cause of his offending is clear. It is alcohol-related and if that could be tackled, it would be of benefit to society as a whole”.
But Sheriff Ian Cruickshank told Harkness: “You are just a perennial pain in the side of police officers in the execution of their duty.
“You show no respect whatsoever,” he added.
The sheriff jailed Harkness, of Peffery Road, Dingwall, for 12 months.
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