An Inverness man involved in a rooftop stand-off with police had to be rescued by firefighters after he became stuck in a window.
Officers had followed a trail of blood to Ross Williamson’s door – but when they knocked he refused to answer and instead climbed onto a porch roof.
From there Williamson hurled abuse, as well as tiles, before attempting to re-enter the property and becoming jammed in the window.
He was detained but later assaulted two officers by kicking and spitting at them.
Sheriff Gary Aitken called the incident an “utter pantomime”.
Williamson, 37, appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court for sentencing having previously admitted to threatening or abusive behaviour and assaulting officers.
Fiscal depute Adelle Grey told the court that police were called to Slackbuie in the early hours of September 15 of last year.
Blood trail led police to house
Officers spotted a “blood trail” on the ground outside and followed it to a property in Knocknagael.
When they knocked at the door Williamson appeared at an upstairs window and was “instantly aggressive” and denied them entry to the property.
“The accused then opened the window and began to climb out whilst shouting and directing abuse at the police,” Ms Gray told Sheriff Aitken.
As a result of this behaviour, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and an ambulance were called.
Williamson stayed on the roof of the porch “shouting and swearing” before producing a bottle of alcohol and drinking the contents.
As police tried to engage with him in an attempt to get him down, Williamson began to lift tiles from the roof and throw them to the ground near the officers.
‘Go back to England’
When a police officer tried to negotiate, Williamson again shouted and swore, calling him an “English p****” and telling him to “Go back to England”.
He also threw a bottle at an officer.
At around 5.20am, Williamson tried to get back into the property but “got stuck in the window”.
He was rescued by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service before being detained.
On arrival at the police station, Williamson became unresponsive and was taken to Raigmore Hospital, but after being deemed fit to return to police custody he assaulted two officers by kicking and spitting at them
Solicitor Clare Russell, for Williamson, said: “Obviously there is no excuse for the behaviour that has been narrated. He was heavily under the influence of substances at the time.”
Ms Russell said her client “has indicated genuine remorse and genuine insight” and had undergone “a very significant period of detoxification” since the incident.
She added: “If there ever was a wake-up call, this was it.
“Mr Williamson is extremely embarrassed and ashamed of his behaviour. When the narrative was read out he was hanging his head in shame.”
Sheriff blasts ‘utter pantomime’
Sheriff Aitken called the incident an “utter pantomime” and told Williamson: “It is just as well that you have done something about your substance misuse under your own steam because otherwise you would have been going straight to jail.
“Having been pulled out of a window by the fire brigade to then behave in the manner you did at Raigmore Hospital speaks exceedingly ill of you – the police have far better things to do.
“Ms Russell assures me that you are ashamed – you most assuredly should be.”
The sheriff placed Williamson, of Culchanaig Road, on a community payback order with 18 months of supervision and 240 hours of unpaid work in the community.
He warned: “If you fail to comply and it appears in front of me I will jail you.”