Yob coughed on officer claiming he had Covid-19
Lout jailed after targeting policeman
A yob has been jailed for deliberately coughing on a police officer while claiming he had COVID-19.
Kevin Goudie targeted the officer while he and colleagues were attending a fire at a home in Ayr.
Goudie, 29, coughed on the cop as he and other officers tried to make sure the bonfire at the property in question was safe. Furniture was being torched in the back garden at the address.
Officers who had been called to attend the scene were worried about the height of the flames but Goudie took umbrage at their presence and coughed on PC David Scobie.
Goudie admitted his guilt over the August 9, 2020, offence previously, and returned to the dock at Ayr Sheriff Court last week to learn his fate.
He was jailed for 15 months for the offence, reduced from 20 as he admitted his guilt.
The court heard previously that officers had been called to attend the blaze to make sure it was safe for those in attendance and the homes nearby.
Goudie, of Ayr, pleaded guilty to a charge of assaulting PC Scobie “in the execution of his duties” by coughing “at him whilst intimating to him that you had coronavirus (COVID-19).”
Prosecutor Martina McGuigan said PC Scobie and a colleague had been called to the property in question to check “the height of the fire” and “found a group of people” in the back garden.
She said they tried to gain entry to the garden but were blocked off by someone who was there.
The procurator fiscal depute added: “The accused was standing opposite him.
“He leaned over and coughed directly onto him, stating: ‘I’ve got Covid’.
“When cautioned and charged, he said, ‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done it’. He stated he did not have any COVID-19 symptoms.”
The following day, when he made his initial court appearance from custody, Goudie insisted he did not have Covid and had been “drinking and frustrated at a family gathering”.
Defence solicitor Tony Currie said: “He’s served periods of detention previously - some years ago.He was in drink and was angry at the police attending.
“He was not in fact suffering any symptoms of Covid. He obtained a test which was negative.
“He has now attained full-time employment and is doing much better.”