Policeman who attacked woman is spared jail

A POLICE officer who grabbed a woman by her coat and threw her against a tractor was fined £300 today.

Sergeant Steven Campbell conducted the assault "in a moment of temper" at Baads Farm in Shotts, Lanarkshire.

Today at the High Court in Glasgow, Campbell, 40, of Hamilton was fined 300 for the assault.

The police officer, who has 22 years' service, was originally charged with rape and attempted murder but he was cleared of those charges at an earlier hearing.

The attack happened between January 2005 and December 2006.

Campbell, a former firearms instructor with Strathclyde Police, was also fined a further 450 for the illegal possession of ammunition after four bullets were found at his house.

He pleaded guilty to having ammunition without a firearms certificate and having prohibited ammunition without the consent of Scottish ministers at an earlier hearing.

The court heard how Campbell was a reliable officer who was dedicated to the service of the public.

His lawyer, Paul McBride QC, told the court Campbell acted out of "sheer frustration" when he assaulted the woman and had simply forgotten to return the bullets after a police training exercise.

He said the officer, who begun his policing career in 1988, had enjoyed an "unblemished" service record and had never been subject to any disciplinary proceedings by police.

Mr Campbell has not been suspended from his job but has been removed from frontline duties. He may face further disciplinary action by the force.

Sentencing him, Lord Woolman said he would not treat the the case "lightly".

He told Campbell that, as a serving police officer, he ought to have known "the very strict laws" governing firearms.

He said: "If you had been originally charged with these offences, this case would not be in this court. It would have been dealt with by a Sheriff.

"With regard to the assault, a physical attack on another person is always a matter of concern. It will not be treated lightly by the court.

"But this case is at the lower end of the range. It relates to one occasion, between 2005 and 2006, when in a moment of temper you grabbed her jacket and pushed her against a tractor.

"You did not strike her, or attempt to strike her. Nor was she injured as a result of the assault."