A 37-year-old Dundee man threatened to rip a policeman’s head off and challenged him to fight in the street.
Dundee Sheriff Court heard how Constable Keith Duncan sprayed CS spray in Ralph Smith’s face after Smith punched him and attempted to headbutt him outside Underground nightclub in the city’s South Tay Street last November.
Smith, of Happyhillock Road, Dundee was found guilty of assaulting Underground doorman Juan Phyfer while on bail, punching him on the face to his injury and repeatedly attempting to strike him.
He was also found guilty of on the same occasion assaulting Keith Duncan, a constable with Tayside Police, then in the execution of his duty and punching him on the body and attempting to headbutt him.
He was further found guilty of resisting, obstructing, molesting and hindering constables Keith Duncan and Gareth Ewing and struggling violently, refusing to desist and repeatedly challenging them to fight.
Sheriff George Way said he accepted the evidence of the police officers and found Smith guilty on all three charges.
Sentence was deferred for reports and a restriction of liberty order assessment until August 7.
Giving evidence, Constable Duncan told how he and his colleague Gareth Ewing had been sitting in their unmarked police car around midnight on November 17 when they witnessed Smith assault Mr Phyfer.
Constable Duncan said: ”We saw two males approach the front of the queue … one of the males punched the door steward in the face and then rained down blows on him.”
The court heard on witnessing the assault, both plain clothes CID officers got out of their car.
Constable Duncan told the court: ”I said ‘I’m a police officer.’ He said ‘I don’t give a f**k who you are.” Smith then punched Constable Duncan, catching him on the shoulder and tried to headbutt him.
Constable Duncan backed off and warned Smith he was under arrest, but he moved into the middle of South Tay Street.
”He was shouting ‘Come on,”’ Constable Duncan said. ”DC Ewing withdrew his asp baton and he (Smith) was warned to get down on his knees.
”I withdrew my incapacitant spray and I told him if he didn’t desist, get down on his knees, he would be sprayed.”
When Smith continued to threaten the officers Constable Duncan sprayed him and the policemen were able to take him to the pavement and handcuff him.
”We were still getting threats,” Constable Duncan said. ”It was going to be my head getting ripped off and ‘I will see you again’.”
Under cross-examination, Smith’s agent Paul Parker Smith suggested to Constable Duncan that the raised arms he had interpreted as aggressive was actually his client surrendering just before he had sprayed him.
Constable Duncan replied: ”Your suggestion is ludicrous.”
Smith told the court the argument with Mr Phyfer had come about when he had attempted to get into a student night in Underground.
He said: ”I showed my ID, he said ‘That’s fake, not Dundee College’ and I said ‘I go to college in Fife.’ He said ‘I’m keeping that.’ He pushed us, I pushed him back and I got a crack in the face.”
Smith said the police arrived as he retaliated and when he had established they were police he held up his hands in surrender.
”I was trying to tell them I’ve just been assaulted here but they just weren’t interested,” he said.