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Police assault                    24/11/11

A Lewis teenager has avoided being sent to a young offenders institution after her parents took her back in.

Louise Smith must pay a police constable £250 compensation after kicking his face and breaking his glasses.

Sheriff David Sutherland said the charges were “very serious” and adjourned the case at Stornoway Sheriff Court yesterday (wed) to allow the implications of not having a suitable sentence address to sink in.

The 17-year-old was being sentenced for two counts of police assault in North Beach Street, Stornoway on 23rd September. She previously admitted kicking a male constable, cutting his hand and trying to bit his arm. She also accepted she kicked another officer in the face and broke his spectacles. Smith also resisted arrest.

Procurator fiscal David Teale said police went looking for her after reports of a disturbance in a Stornoway town centre pub. They detained her but she pulled away and kicked out as they tried to handcuff her.

He said she dug her nails into one officer’s hand and he felt her teeth as she made to bite his arm.

As she was being put in a police vehicle she kicked out at the other police officer catching him on the face.

Lawyer Kevin Macpherson said she was innocent of the original pub incident and she left to get a takeaway but there was no “excuse or justification” for her reaction towards the police officers.

When the case was recalled, it was confirmed Smith would stay at 6 Dun Innes, Great Bernera, if she retained her freedom.

Sheriff David Sutherland said he hesitated to do that and stressed: “I hope you appreciate how close you were to a prison sentence today.”

He warned that she faced custody if she breaches the two-year community payback order which includes 120 hours of unpaid community work. She will be tagged for the next six months and is ordered to obey a 9pm to 6am daily curfew.