Police arresting a deaf man “did not handle the situation appropriately”, a court has been told.
Peter Drinnan, 29, was treated tactlessly by officers and was not offered an interpreter, despite being unable to hear anything, his solicitor told Dundee Sheriff Court.
The “rough” incident happened after a drunken Drinnan, accompanied by a friend, attempted to enter G Casino, West Marketgait, at around 3.45am.
The visibly intoxicated pair were refused admission, leading Drinnan to punch a casino employee on the head.
Officers rushed to the scene and put Drinnan in a police van.
Unable to properly communicate, he began gesticulating and using a mobile phone, which his solicitor says he often uses to show written messages to people.
Police asked him to surrender the phone, which he refused to do, and a struggle ensued, resulting in Drinnan being taken out of the van, pinned to the pavement and handcuffed.
His solicitor, Ann Johnson, said that for much of the incident Drinnan, who required a sign language interpreter in court, was merely trying to communicate with staff and officers.
She said: “He had been drinking with a friend and he does not go out much. He accepts he drank too much.
“He uses his mobile to communicate with people and he was trying to communicate with police (when the phone was taken).
“He obviously can’t hear anything, and that is where the gesticulating comes in. Sometimes it can come across as aggressive.
“He states that the police were rough with him and that at no point was he offered an interpreter.
“He accepts he struggled with police, but the officers concerned did not handle the situation appropriately.”
Drinnan, of Honeygreen Road, Dundee, pleaded guilty at the sheriff court to assaulting Alexander Crichton, as well as obstructing and struggling with police officer Martin Falconer, on February 2.
Sheriff McGowan fined him a total of £270.