Officer feared for life during incident at dam

A POLICE officer said she believed she would die when a man held her face under water as she responded to an incident.

PCAngelaMelia panicked and inhaled water and silt when James Brand held her head in the water at a dam.

The incident left her shaken, with muscle injuries, and has since had a devastating impact on the officer, 33, a court heard.

The i n c i d e n t wa s recounted at the High Court in Edinburgh where Brand pled guilty to assault to injury and the danger of life. Details of the hearing were later confirmed by the Crown Office.

PCMelia and colleague PC Mark Ormesher were called to Gartmorn Dam, Sauchie, Clackmannanshire, on the afternoon of Sunday July 1. They were responding to a report about two men causing damage to parked cars.

Brand was one of the men pointed out to officers. The accused, who was standing at t he water’s e d g e, appeared to be under the influence of a substance.

Advocate depute Iain McSporran said: “He adopted an aggressive and unco-operative demeanour and refused to listen to the officer’s attempts to explain why he needed to speak to him. He walked backwards towards the water and was warned against so doing.”

The officers, who radioed for help, seized Brand and tried to pull him away from the water. He struggled and lashed out with his arms.

Mr McSporran said: “All three ended up standing in the water. Then the accused grabbed PC Melia by her clothing and pulled downwards so that she ended up face down in the water. The water was not particularly deep at that point but was certainly deep enough that her face was fully immersed, to the extent that her face touched t he s and/ s i l t bottom.”

PC Ormesher freed his colleague and used CS gas spray and handcuffs to restrain Brand.

Brand was i nit i al ly accused of attempted murder but the Crown accepted his plea to the reduced charge. He will be sentenced at a later date.