A man was yesterday jailed for assaulting a conductor on a train and two police officers who came to arrest him.
Steven Cordiner, of Mintlaw, was travelling to Aberdeen to pick up his dog from someone’s house when he got into an argument as the train stopped off in Elgin.
The confrontation between 27-year-old Cordiner and other passengers turned violent when the train conductor stepped in to calm it down and was punched in the neck.
Depute Fiscal Rowena Carlton told Elgin Sheriff Court how Cordiner became agitated and the police were called to attend the incident.
She said: “As the police officers attempted to get the accused off the train he became violent and punched one constable in her right shoulder. Further constables attended, he punched one in his left cheek and right of his mouth.”
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Defence solicitor Matthew O’Neill explained that his client’s mental health problems had been a pivotal factor in this incident occurring.
He said: “Cordiner’s mental health has not been good for some time and he had shown a number of symptoms including anxiety, depression, panic attacks and agoraphobia.
“He struggled to deal with being out and about and was travelling to Aberdeen to pick up his dog who he had heard was not being treated well.
“He admits he consumed too much alcohol and has no recollection of what happened and he could only recall waking up in a police station and discovering he had sustained a fracture in his arm.”
Mr O’Neill suggested two options to deal with Cordiner, a custodial sentence or a restriction of liberty order stating that he would stay with his family in Peterhead.
But Sheriff Olga Pasportnikov said there was no alternative to imprisonment.
She said: “People should be able to head to work and be safe there.”
Cordiner was sentenced to 145 days in jail which were backdated to September 3 after he plead guilty to three counts of assault.
