A man being hauled into custody after assaulting cops threatened to defecate in the back of their police van – and then actually did.
Shane Garry, 32, had to be locked up in a police van cage by officers after a series of violent outbursts when he was arrested following a taxi journey near Newmachar, Aberdeenshire.
He spat and kicked the constables forcing them to put on a pit hood.
In a final act of defiance, Garry then informed officers that he would defecate in the van.
Officers reported seeing him “appear to pass a bowel movement” before an awful smell filled the van.
Garry pleaded guilty at Aberdeen Sheriff Court to three charges, including assaulting two police officers and behaving in a threatening or abusive manner.
Accused had to be placed in restraints and cage
Fiscal depute Emma Petersen told the court that at around 9pm on July 19 2020, police were sent to a taxi that had stopped on the side of the road and had Garry in the passenger seat.
She said: “Officers noted that he appeared drunk and his speech was slurred.
“He then became aggressive with officers and as they tried to take him by the wrist he flailed his arms about to stop them putting handcuffs on.
“The accused then made himself a dead weight and thereafter kicked the front of the police van and pushed backwards with his legs causing all three to fall to the ground.
“As one of the offices got to her feet, the accused then kicked her to the leg.
“After leg restraints were placed on the accused he was placed in a cage in the police van.
“He spat and it struck the near side of the van cage, narrowly missing an officer’s face.”
A spit hood was then applied to Garry’s head by police and during the journey to custody he made threats to urinate and defecate “all over the van”.
The officers noted that urine then appeared on the inside of Garry’s legs and there was a “smell of faeces”.
‘He has managed to overcome his addiction to controlled substances’
Defence agent Andrew Ormiston told the court that at the time of these offences Garry had “fallen back on using substances to cope”.
He added: “He has since then managed to overcome to a great degree his addiction to controlled substances.
“He deserves credit for getting away from that.
“He is very remorseful for his conduct and he knows he cannot behave that way in future.”
Sheriff Lesley Johnston described Garry’s actions as a “serious incident”.
She added: “These police officers were just doing their job and they do not deserve to have to deal with issues like this.”
As an alternative to a prison sentence, Sheriff Johnston sentenced Garry, of Prince Street, Peterhead, to a community payback order with 12 months of supervision and a curfew for 60 days.
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