A man hurled a tirade of racist abuse at a police officer after he was denied access to the toilet.
Jeremy Higgins, 47, pointed at an Afghanistan-born officer and said: “I bet Abu Hamza gets to go to the toilet.”
Dundee Sheriff Court heard that Higgins, of Union Street, Blairgowrie, was travelling in a police van along with his partner after being lifted following a domestic argument.
Higgins had reported an alleged assault, police turned up to investigate and his partner made a counter-allegation. Both were taken to police headquarters and Higgins’ partner had been taken to the charge bar while he sat in the van.
Depute fiscal Nicola Gillespie said: “He was banging on the cage of the police van and asked if he could go to the toilet. He was told, ‘Not yet but in a few moments.’
“He then pointed at an Afghan-born police officer and said, ‘I bet Abu Hamza gets to go to the toilet. All Iraqis and Polish get everything.’
“The officers were clearly concerned about his conduct. He was rattling the cage in the back of the van. He was subsequently detained and taken into the station, where he was kept in custody overnight.”
The court heard that the painter and decorator had been drinking with his partner before the incident unfolded around 9.30pm on March 23.
Defending, Stephanie Ross said: “He was frustrated and agitated. He didn’t understand why, when he complained, he ended up being arrested and conveyed to police headquarters.”
Higgins, who has previous convictions for breach of the peace, police assault and drink-driving, admitted that on March 23 at police headquarters, he behaved in a threatening or abusive manner likely to cause a reasonable person to suffer fear and alarm in that he repeatedly shouted and swore.
Sheriff George Way said: “This is his third conviction for public disorder or breach of the peace. One of those was aggravated by being on bail, as was this.”
Sentence was deferred to June 24 for criminal justice and social work reports.