Policeman guilty of smacking witness with baton after 100mph car chase

18 November 2023 , 18:39

407     0

The court heard how Brownlee, who was not pursuit trained, reached speeds in excess of 100mph as he chased a vehicle which had flagged up as having no insurance (Image: Facebook)

A former Police Scotland officer has been found guilty of assaulting a "frightened" man by smacking him with a baton as he lay face down on the ground. Constable Jack Brownlee, 29, was also convicted of driving recklessly during a terrifying high-speed chase in Fife in April 2021.

The former cop, who denied both charges, was fined £3000, banned from the roads for a year, and ordered to pay his victim £600 compensation at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court on Thursday. He was also told to pay a £175 victim surcharge by Sheriff Elizabeth McFarlane.

The court heard how Brownlee, who was not pursuit trained, reached speeds in excess of 100mph as he chased a vehicle which had flagged up as having no insurance. After around 20 minutes, the runaway car was eventually abandoned in a cul-de-sac in Methil, with the driver seen sprinting away from the scene.

One of the vehicle’s passengers, James Malcolm Smith, was spotted trying to get out of the back seat of the three-door car and ordered to lay down on the ground by another officer. The passenger was described as being “completely compliant” before Brownlee approached and struck him on the legs just seconds later.

The former cop, who denied both charges, was fined £3000, banned from the roads for a year, and ordered to pay his victim £600 compensation at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court on Thursday (Daily Record)

The Daily Record reported that, giving evidence, Constable Michael Greig told the court: "I told him (Smith) to get out of the car and to get down on his tummy. He told me he had never been so frightened as he was in that car and that he was yelling for the driver to stop. He was doing what I was asking him to do. PC Brownlee came round the front of the vehicles and I heard his baton."

Tragedy as 13-month-old boy dies after the stolen car he was in crashed

He added: "He was striking the driver’s window of the Seat with his baton. He then struck the chap that was on the ground with his extendable baton. He struck him on the legs at the back of his calves. I said ‘what are you doing? He’s not the driver. He’s a witness’ or something along those lines."

Fiscal depute Michael Robertson asked if Mr Smith was causing any concern for officer safety. He said: "He was very low risk. His whole demeanour suggested that he wasn’t a threat to me. He didn’t have anything in his hands and he wasn’t displaying any aggression."

The culpable and reckless charge against Brownlee stated that while in the execution of his duties as a police constable, he drove a vehicle "culpably and recklessly to the danger of the lieges." He led a 20 minute chase under the cover of darkness and travelled at speeds "grossly in excess of the national speed limit."

He also repeatedly drove off road, lost control of the vehicle on a left hand bend causing the car to veer into the opposing lane and drove the wrong way around roundabouts. A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "We acknowledge the outcome at court. The individual is no longer a serving officer."

Sarah Vesty