Moray Courts: Fined for grabbing a PC by the throat in Elgin town centre
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A man has been fined after he drunkenly grabbed a police officer around the throat.
Reacting to CCTV images of a disturbance involving several men in Elgin town centre, the police went to the scene at about 1.30am on July 31 last year.
They came across Scott Hale on City Arms Close who was described as "shadow boxing".
Speaking at Elgin Sheriff Court, fiscal depute Shamielah Ghafar said: "The accused was shouted and swearing. The officers approached him and attempted to calm him down.
"The accused grabbed one of the officers by the throat with his right hand.
"The officer moved his hand away, at which point the accused lunged forward and tried to grab him by the throat again."
Hale was arrested and taken to the police station where he was kept in custody until he sobered up.
Defence solicitor Stephen Carty said his 25-year-old client had been so drunk he couldn't remember the incident, however he wanted to apologise to the police officer.
The lawyer add that a family member had passed away and, for a relatively short period, Hale had begun drinking too much.
Hale, whose was address was given in court papers as Church Street, Lossiemouth, was fined £640.
