Armed police were called to a siege in a Dundee street in the early hours of Wednesday.
A tactical firearms unit was deployed to the scene in Ballindean Road, along with a negotiator and other emergency services, Dundee Sheriff Court heard on Thursday.
The stand-off began when 38-year-old Dean Foulis returned home drunk and locked himself in the garage when he was asked to leave and ended when entry was forced by the emergency services and he tried to make off riding a child’s toy.
Despite the best efforts of the negotiator, Foulis had steadfastly refused to open the door and threatened to set the place on fire. He admitted a charge of behaving in a disorderly manner and breaching the peace at his home when he appeared before Sheriff Elizabeth Munro.
The court heard that he was shouting and swearing and officers described him “dancing about” the garage, brandishing a hammer, which he used to strike off walls and smash light bulbs. He also brandished a golf club, threatened to set fire to oil which he had poured on the garage floor and threatened police officers with violence.
After around 90 minutes officers felt they had no choice but to storm the garage and entry was forced. However, the end of the siege proved something of an anticlimax, as Foulis attempted to escape riding a small child’s quad bike and was quickly apprehended.
He attributed his behaviour to taking drink on top of prescribed medication.
His lawyer James Laverty said it appeared that Foulis’ “rather bizarre” disorderly behaviour had taken place while he was alone. It was unusual that the first four police officers on the scene had not simply forced entry to the garage and that firearms officers had become involved, he suggested.
Sheriff Munro contended that something about Foulis’ behaviour and the officers’ lack of knowledge of the items to which he had access in the garage may have raised concern. She also noted that Foulis has previous convictions for a firearms offence and crimes against the police, and may therefore have been “firearms marked and violence marked.”
The sheriff expressed her disgust at Foulis’ actions and the resulting cost to the public purse, pointing out that firearms officers, a negotiator, the fire service and the ambulance service were all involved.
“All these people were being used for this when they could have been doing far better things,” she said. “This is extremely serious and the public have the right to be extremely angry with him for the time and resources wasted on him.”
Turning to Foulis, she said, “I think your behaviour was just appalling and I think the good citizens of Dundee have every right to regard you as being a real waste of space and of their time.”
The sheriff deferred sentence to April 7 and released Foulis on bail until then.