A fracas outside an Inverness pub resulted in a police sergeant receiving a wrist injury when the man he arrested kicked out at the door of a police van.
But Inverness Sheriff Court heard that the officer still suffers from tingling which fiscal depute Roderick Urquhart said would pass in time.
Inverness man Andrew Urquhart, 47, described as a prisoner at Inverness admitted assaulting the officer to his injury on April 26 this year outside Gellions Hotel.
The court heard that Urquhart had been thrown out of the bar and was being restrained by staff until police arrived to arrest him.
Mr Urquhart added: “To put it mildly, he was objecting to what was happening to him and said he was going to spit on his face.
“A spit hood was placed over his head, and another five minutes passed without incident until a police van arrived.
“As he was being placed in the van which has an inner door, he kicked out and the door struck the police sergeant on the wrist, causing an abrasion and swelling. He was taken to hospital where no fracture was found.”
Defence solicitor advocate Shahid Latif said: “As sometimes is the case, there are two sides to the story. He was assaulted in the bar and he was disbelieved as to what had happened.”
Urquhart was jailed for nine months, backdated to April 28 when he first appeared in court.