A police officer attempting to help a man find somewhere to stay for the night found himself on the receiving end of an assault.
PC Steven Rae and a colleague had stopped in the car park of the Premier Inn Kingsway West to help Christopher Hardie find a room – and soon found himself in a struggle with the 51-year-old.
Hardie, of Brown Constable Pend, admitted an amended charge of assaulting the constable on July 28 last year in the car park of the hotel.
He seized the officer on the body, pushed and pulled him by the body and struggled with him.
The incident happened shortly after 1am that morning.
Dundee Sheriff Court heard how PC Rae and his fellow officer had been in the area at the time and stopped to help Hardie find a room, as the Premier Inn was full.
Fiscal depute Lora Apostolova said: “They spoke to the accused and offered to see if there were any rooms available.
“Whilst this was happening he asked one of the officers to get out of their car.
“Once he got out of his car, he asked one of the officers for a lighter – he was not given one and at that point he was going home and attempted to walk away.
“A discussion ensued and, whilst this was happening, his (Hardie’s) path was blocked and at that point in time was taken hold of by the constables.
“In the course of the struggle he grabbed the constable, pushed and pulled him and was effectively seen to struggle.
“He was arrested and, upon caution and charge, said: ‘I was in the car about three hours with your guys’.”
Solicitor John Boyle, in mitigation, said Hardie had been drinking excessively that evening.
“He’d had far too much to drink,” he said.
“He knows he should not have done that.”
Sheriff Alastair Carmichael fined Hardie £200, reduced from £300 for his guilty plea, to be paid at a rate of £100 per month.
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