A sheriff has called spitting at officers an “ongoing problem” and said courts won’t hesitate to impose custodial sentences as she jailed one offender for 10 months.
Samuel Bliss had been arrested after becoming aggressive towards an officer who was trying to deal with an injured man in the street.
The 29-year-old had to be restrained by an officer at the scene and then spat on a policeman in a cell at Elgin police station.
Bliss appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court to admit resisting, obstructing or hindering one officer and assaulting another, as well as breaching a bail condition that prevented him from entering the street where the incident began.
Fiscal depute Robert Weir told the court that it was around 1.30am on June 10 this year when officers were alerted to a male with a head injury on Joanna’s Lane, City Arms Close, Elgin.
The officers went to the scene, found the stricken male and an officer was relaying details to ambulance staff when Bliss approached and attempted to engage with him.
The constable told the accused he was busy on the phone, so couldn’t talk at that time, to which Bliss replied: “No you’re f***ing not.”
Mr Weir said the officer perceived Bliss to be aggressive at this time.
Despite repeated requests to allow the officer to relay information undisturbed Bliss continued to bother him, asking him “Who the f*** are you?” before the officer employed a “one arm fend off”.
Samuel Bliss had to be restrained in cell
Bliss was then restrained by a second officer and a member of the public while backup was called in.
Mr Weir told the court: “All the while the remaining information still required to be passed to the ambulance service regarding the injured male, but the accused’s behaviour resulted in it taking longer.”
Bliss was eventually arrested and taken to Elgin Police Station where his behaviour meant he was put in a cell and restrained to the floor.
During this time, he spat at an officer, with the spit landing on the policeman’s trousers, before he was placed in a spit hood.
It was then discovered that Bliss was subject to a bail condition not to enter Joanna’s Land, City Arms Close, where the incident had begun.
‘He was incensed by this perceived injustice’
Bliss’ solicitor Iain Malman said his client was a former serviceman who had spent time in both the Army and Navy.
He said his client had been drinking by himself on the night in question and had erroneously believed that the man in the street had been injured while being ejected from a nearby nightclub.
He said: “It was on that basis, a serious misapprehension, fueled by alcohol that he remonstrated with police. He was incensed by this perceived injustice.”
“He sincerely apologises. It is not lost on him how serious these offences are,” Mr Maltman added.
Sheriff Sara Matheson told Bliss: “Behaviour such as this towards police officers is completely unacceptable.
“Assaulting police officers and spitting at police officers is an ongoing problem to which the courts won’t hesitate to impose custodial sentences.”
She jailed Bliss for 10 months backdated to June 12 of this year.
