A grieving Lossiemouth man launched into a tirade against police officers when they came across him while he was attempting to spread his brother’s ashes.
Kyle Mackenzie, of Macdonald Drive, was in Elgin Sheriff Court on Thursday to face sentencing for acting in an abusive and threatening manner last month.
The 27-year-old had been approached by police officers on March 30 after they received a call from his partner who was concerned about his mental wellbeing.
They found him sitting in his car in Lossiemouth High School’s car park at about 7.45pm.
But when they began to search him, Mackenzie became aggressive and was ultimately taken into their vehicle. Matters only became worse from there.
‘There was an unfortunate incident’
Fiscal depute Shay Treanor told the court that Mackenzie had not been causing problems for the police until the ashes of his brother were uncovered during a search.
“He was initially cooperative with police,” he said.
“They carried out a search of his person. It was during that point his demeanor changed when a small black container was removed from his jacket pocket.
“The accused informed the police that these were, in fact, his brother’s ashes.
“While speaking with officers he became to become more verbally aggressive. He intimated he did not want to leave the area of Lossiemouth until he returned to his home address and collected a picture frame with a picture of his brother in it.
“He became more irate and was then taken to the police vehicle due to his behaviour.
“Whilst in the police vehicle, there was an unfortunate incident whereby the accused opened the black container and some of the ashes spilled out.
“The accused began to raise his voice and call the police ‘pricks’ and ‘c****’.”
His behaviour continued despite requests for him to stop, and he was eventually cautioned and charged.
Mackenzie’s defence agent, Stephen Carty, told the court Mackenzie was in the town that evening with the intention of scattering the ashes of his brother.
“He was rather upset and emotional given the situation,” he said.
“He clearly was not expecting to have any contact with Police Scotland.
“He has to accept that he became rather upset at the police involvement.”
‘An alternative to custody’
Sentencing Mackenzie, who appeared on remand from HMP Inverness during the hearing, Sheriff David Harvie ordered him to complete 80 hours of unpaid work within the community over the next six months.
He also placed Mackenzie under the supervision of the social work department for a period of one year, saying it was “clear” he needed help in dealing with his personal circumstances.
“There’s obviously tragic circumstances underlying all of this. It’s pretty clear in the terms of the report that you need help in coping with all of this and a variety of other issues,” Sheriff Harvie said.
“I am prepared to deal with this notwithstanding your record by way of an alternative to custody.”