The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Family’s hell over police ‘abduction’
Man jailed but allegation PCs were locked up not proven
An Angus man spent more than five months in jail and his wife-to-be lost her job after they were accused of abducting two police officers.
Philip Moreton, 31, and his partner Cheyrell Davie, 35, walked free from the High Court in Edinburgh after a jury ruled an allegation PCs Gail Beattie and Gemma Smith had been locked up in the pair’s home near Glen Prosen was not proven.
Mr Moreton denies claims he prevented officers from leaving his home at Glackburn Farm by locking the doors after police were called out to investigate a disturbance on March 4. Despite walking free, he said his life is in tatters. “I was taken away from my family,” he said. “I missed my son’s first birthday because of this.”
A couple have told how their lives have been turned upside down after being accused of abducting two police officers.
Philip Moreton, 31, and his wife-to-be Cheyrell Davie, 35, walked free from the High Court in Edinburgh after a jury found an allegation that they had abducted Police Constables Gail Beattie and Gemma Smith at their home near Glen Prosen was not proven.
Mr Moreton, an offshore scaffolder, said: “I spent five-and-a-half months in custody and Cheyrell lost her job in human resources.
“She was suspended with pay before she was dismissed and my career has been put on hold. “I was taken away from my family. “I missed my son’s first birthday because of this.
“We have a mortgage on another house in Dundee as well, so it was really tough.
“I’ve still got my offshore job, but I can’t go back to that, not now.”
The drama began on March 4 when Ms Davie called police following an argument with her partner, who had moved there from Dundee the previous year.
When two officers tried to detain Mr Moreton he ran off, before returning four hours later.
He claims he then tried to barricade himself in a cupboard to avoid injury.
PCs Beattie and Smith called for back-up from an armed response unit and, after some negotiations, Mr Moreton gave himself up.
Prosecutors claimed in court that Ms Davie had prevented the officers from leaving their property at Glackburn Farm by locking the doors, but jurors said there was reasonable doubt over that allegation.
The officers also said they had an air rifle pointed at them by Mr Moreton. That charge was also found not proven.
Accepting he should not have run off, Mr Moreton said: “The whole thing has been awful.
“I could have been facing seven or eight years in prison and Cheyrell could have been looking at three years if we had been found guilty. “Where would our kids have gone?” A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: “Police Scotland acknowledges the decision of the High Court.
“There is no doubt that our officers often work in dynamic and challenging situations and it is important that we and our communities continue to offer them our full support.”
I could have been facing seven or eight years in prison and Cheyrell could have been looking at three years if we had been found guilty.
PHILIP MORETON