An injured Perth teenager who spat on paramedics who came to his aid has been told his behaviour was ”totally inexcusable”.
So drunk he could barely stand, Jack Bruce collapsed outside a Perth public house where he was attending an under-18s event. Although no alcohol was being served to party-goers, the 16-year-old had consumed a large quantity of drink prior to his arrival.
Stumbling outside, he fell to the ground, striking his head in the process. His friends were so concerned for Bruce, who was bleeding from a head wound, that they called for an ambulance.
Having checked his airway for blockages, paramedics who arrived at the scene attempted to place Bruce on a spinal board as a precaution, only for the teenager to spit on one of them.
The paramedic was hit in the chest by a mixture of saliva and blood.
Bruce, of Balmoral Road, Blairgowrie, appeared in the dock at Perth Sheriff Court on Tuesday to admit assaulting a paramedic by spitting on him in Atholl Street, Perth, on January 28 last year.
His defence agent told the court: ”During the course of the evening he went outside for a cigarette, only to fall and hit his head. He was bleeding and he was also sick. A friend was so concerned that they called for an ambulance.
”Unfortunately, he has no memory of what happened after his fall. He apologises both to the court and to the paramedic for his actions.”
The solicitor asked Sheriff Lindsay Foulis to consider admonition or a deferred sentence for Bruce to show good behaviour, but the pleas fell on deaf ears.
”You cannot stand on your own two feet, you fall and hit your head and are bleeding, and a friend is concerned enough to call the emergency services, yet when they come to your aid you spit on a paramedic,” the sheriff told Bruce.
”Quite what was going through your head I do not know.”
Sheriff Foulis added: ”To behave like this was totally inexcusable. You are fortunate that it is the professional responsibility of those in the ambulance service to deal with folk no matter why they have suffered injury.
”That is no matter whether they have suffered as a result of the actions of others, or because of their own actions, such as in this instance, when you thought it was a good idea to pour so much alcohol down your throat that you could no longer stand.”
Bruce will return for sentencing on April 18.