Two north-east police officers have denied attempting to pervert the course of justice following an alleged village brawl.
Darren Guild and Martin Coyle, both 28, were investigated following an alleged assault in Strichen last year.
Both are accused of having handed over different pairs of shoes than the ones they had been wearing on the night of the incident.
Guild is also facing a charge of assault and acting in a threatening and abusive manner.
They are currently suspended from the force.
Both men denied the charges when they appeared at Peterhead Sheriff Court yesterday.
It is understood that both men were off-duty when the alleged incident happened in Strichen, near Fraserburgh, in the early hours of August 8 last year.
Guild is accused of assaulting a man in Brewery Road by repeatedly punching and kicking him on his head and body, and acting in a threatening manner by chasing him and challenging him to a fight.
Guild, of 169 West Road, Fraserburgh, is also accused of throwing away the man’s mobile phone to prevent him from calling the emergency services.
Coyle, of 2 Lakeview, Strichen, is also accused of having washed a shirt he was wearing on the night of the incident.
The men are scheduled to reappear at Peterhead Sheriff Court early next month. Their trial is due to begin on December 21.
