A Fife man coughed at police officers who asked him if he had any Covid-19 symptoms.
Jamie McAllister, 32, from Dunfermline, admitted assaulting officers who attended a report of a disturbance at the town’s Jennie Rennies Road on May 5.
McAllister, who appeared via video link at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court from Low Moss Prison, also admitted seriously assaulting a man at an address Izatt Avenue on May 21 by dragging him by the body, sitting astride him and repeatedly punching and striking him on the head and body.
The court heard how police had been called to Jennie Rennies Road at around 7.15am and arrived to find McAllister standing topless at the top of the cul-de-sac and bleeding from his hand.
When a female officer tried to establish if McAllister had any Covid symptoms, he deliberately coughed towards her and did so again before being taken to Dunfermline Police Station.
Fiscal Ronnie Hay said McAllister’s temperature was taken at the station and he was not found to be displaying any signs of Covid-19.
The court then heard McAllister had been walking in a communal garden in Izatt Avenue at around 5.30pm on May 21 when he met another man and began drinking.
Their initially friendly encounter turned violent and McAllister committed the assault.
Defence solicitor Chris Sneddon revealed McAllister’s father had been murdered in Glenochil Prison in 2018, which had a “significant impact” on him.
“He had been making a good go of his life but the culmination of pressures put on him in terms of his relationship, bereavement and the lockdown period resulted in this happening,” he explained.
Sheriff James Williamson deferred sentence for the preparation of reports and refused bail.
