Pair of drunks pretending to be police attack man in street

A PAIR of drunks pretending to be policemen tried to "arrest" a man for using a mobile phone in the street before head- butting and punching their victim in a violent attack.

James Erasmuson, 30, and Levi Stephenson, 29, launched the assault in Bread Street, after telling victim Stephen Jenkins he was being detained for making the call.

Five minutes earlier, the men had told passer-by Jane McMillan that they were police officers after flashing a disabled bus pass as "ID", and said they wanted to search her for drugs.

They also told Ms McMillan they wanted her to get into a car, but she refused during the incident on April 20.

At Edinburgh Sheriff Court yesterday, Erasmuson was jailed for six months while sentence was deferred on Stephenson for a Drug Treatment and Testing Order assessment.

Both had pleaded guilty previously to charges of pretending to be constables, and assault.

Mr Jenkins had been making a call as he walked along Bread Street at around 10pm when the drunken men approached. The victim was told to end the call and that he was under arrest.

Erasmuson and Stephenson head-butted and punched Mr Jenkins before putting him in a headlock and forcing his face down on to a car bonnet.

The attack on Mr Jenkins, which was captured on CCTV, was witnessed by two passers-by and the police were called.

Mr Jenkins flagged down a passing police car and the suspects ran off, but they were tracked on CCTV cameras and later arrested.

Fiscal depute John Kirk had told the court that Ms McMillan was walking home when she was approached by Erasmuson, described as a prisoner at Barlinnie, and Stephenson, of Waterfall Walk, Dalkeith, who claimed to be police.

After being shown what she thought was a disabled bus pass, the men asked her if she had any drugs and said they wished her to enter a car.

The woman gave them her name which they entered into a notebook, but she refused to get into any car. The pair then told her they had "other people to see" and walked off.

Mr Kirk said he did not think the woman believed the men were police, but she was upset.

Solicitor George Henry, representing Erasmuson, told Sheriff Elizabeth Jarvie QC that both accused had been drinking heavily. Mr Henry said the men were unclear of what had taken place, and when he had gone through the witness statements with his client, Erasmuson had been left shocked.

Mr Henry described the men's actions as "fanciful, especially as they were heavily under the influence of alcohol". The solicitor said he understood that neither of the men's victims believed they were police officers.