Upset man spat at officer

An Airdrie man has avoided being sent to jail for pleading guilty to an incident that involved spitting on a police officer.

Stephen Walker, 41, behaved in a threatening and abusive way on Sycamore Drive in May.

Police were called after Walker, who lives on that street, made some concerning remarks to a witness following a bereavement.

But when the police arrived on the scene, his attitude changed from “distressed to hostile”.

The procurator fiscal said: “The witness arrived home and her partner was upset as he had suffered a bereavement.

“She grew concerned due to some of the things he was saying.

“She dialled 999 and he was heard over the phone in a distressed state.

“When police arrived she was trying to calm him down, and when the accused saw officers, his attitude became hostile.

“He called them ‘beasty b*******’ and told them to ‘get the f*** out*.

“He then called one of them a blonde c*w before continuing to shout and swear.

“He was then placed in cuffs but spat at an officer.

“It missed him but a spit hood was then applied.

“He was unable to be cautioned and charged at the time due to his aggression.”

Sheriff Morag Shankland said: “This was disgraceful behaviour.

“I’ll impose an 18 month community payback order with alcohol counselling and 100 hours of unpaid work to be completed in the next six months.

“You must come back here on October 22 for a review and I want a good behaviour report.”