Man urinated in street and broke officer’s thumb

Ross Scott, 29, was fined £250 and ordered to pay £150 compensation to the officer following the incident in Hawick town centre at 2am earlier this year.

Fiona Hamilton, prosecuting, told Jedburgh Sheriff Court two officers were on plain clothes mobile patrol when they saw the accused urinating in the street.

She continued: "They approached him and tried to give him a recorded police warning. But another individual became involved and the incident escalated.

"The accused tried to get away and the officer tried to stop him, but the accused began flailing his arms.

"One of the officers sustained an injury to his thumb before other officers arrived and the accused was arrested. He made no reply to being cautioned and charged."

Ms Hamilton added that the officer attended at Borders General Hospital where an x-ray revealed he had sustained a fractured bone in his thumb caused by the incident.

Defence lawyer Ed Hulme said his client had left licensed premises shortly before the incident where he had been on the receiving end of some aggressive behaviour and he "started to panic" when approached by the officers.

He said Scott should have listened to the officers who were trying to deal with the situation.

Scott pleaded guilty to urinating in the street for which he was admonished, and obstructing police.

Sheriff Peter Paterson imposed a £40 victim surcharge in addition to the fine and compensation order.