A police sergeant punched himself in the face and headbutted his front door – then claimed he had been assaulted by his wife.
Barry Murphy was in uniform and heading to start a shift when a row broke out with his estranged wife at their home in Dunfermline.
Murphy, a policeman for 14 years in Edinburgh, gave himself a black eye then tried to blame his wife.
The plan backfired because a teenager who was present recorded his ham acting on a mobile phone.
The teenager told the court: “He headbutted the door and then punched himself twice on the face. He punched himself really hard on the right eye.”
Instead of going to start his shift at Corstorphine, Murphy was arrested and taken to Kirkcaldy Police Station.
Murphy has now been found guilty of three offences, including assaulting his wife, following a trial at Dunfermline Sheriff Court.
A charge of wasting police time was dropped because officers were already on their way in response to a 999 call from his wife when he phoned to report the bogus assault.
Previously Murphy, who had moved out of the family home, returned unexpectedly late at night, let himself in and found another man with his wife.
The man, another police officer Ian Arthur, who is now in a relationship with Mrs Murphy, ran from the house and was chased down the road for half a mile by Murphy, who was shouting that he would kill him.
Murphy, 40, now of New Swanson Estate, Edinburgh, was convicted of three charges arising from incidents at his then-home in Dunfermline.
Between January 1 and December 31 2015 at Bennachie Way he assaulted his wife by seizing her head, pushing her on to a bed and struggling violently.
On February 24 at Bennachie Way he behaved in a threatening or abusive manner by shouting at her and at Ian Arthur, behaved aggressively, made threats of violence to them, stood in front of a car being driven by his wife, refused to desist for a lengthy period and prevented her from leaving.
On April 10 at Bennachie Way he behaved in a threatening or abusive manner by shouting at his wife and acting aggressively, all in the presence of a child, placing them in a state of fear, alarm and distress.
Murphy’s wife said she phoned 999 to report that her husband was self-harming.
During cross-examination, depute fiscal Azrah Yousaf told Murphy: “You’re nothing but a liar and a control freak. You’re trying to refute these allegations because they would cost you your job.”
Sheriff Charles MacNair called for reports including an assessment for a restriction of liberty order.
Murphy will be sentenced on December 11. It is understood he has been suspended from the police.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We are aware of the outcome of the case and a report will be made to assistant chief constable for professionalism, Alan Spiers, for consideration.”
A police sergeant punched himself in the face and headbutted his front door – then claimed he had been assaulted by his wife.
Barry Murphy was in uniform and heading to start a shift when a row broke out with his estranged wife at their home in Dunfermline.
Murphy, a policeman for 14 years based in Edinburgh, gave himself a black eye then tried to blame his wife, whining, “I can’t believe you just punched me” and “I’m so scared”.
The plan backfired because a teenager who was present recorded his ham acting on a mobile phone.
The teenager told the court: “He headbutted the door and then punched himself twice on the face. He punched himself really hard on the right eye. I put on my camera and started recording it.”
Instead of going to start his shift at Corstorphine, Murphy was arrested and taken to Kirkcaldy police station.
Murphy has now been found guilty of three offences, including assaulting his wife, following a trial at Dunfermline Sheriff Court.
A charge of wasting police time was dropped because officers were already on their way in response to a 999 call from his wife when he phoned to report the bogus assault.
In a previous incident Murphy, who had moved out of the family home, returned unexpectedly late at night, let himself in by the back door and found another man there with his wife.
The man, another police officer, Ian Arthur, who is now in a relationship with Mrs Murphy, ran from the house and was chased down the road for half a mile by Murphy who was shouting that he would kill him.
Murphy, 40, now of New Swanson Estate, Edinburgh, was convicted of three charges arising from separate incidents at his then home in Dunfermline.
Between January 1 and December 31 2015 at Bennachie Way, he assaulted his wife by seizing her head, pushing her on to a bed and struggling violently with her.
On February 24 at Bennachie Way, he behaved in a threatening or abusive manner by shouting at her and at Ian Arthur, behaved aggressively, made threats of violence to them, stood in front of a car being driven by his wife, refused to desist for a lengthy period and prevented her from leaving.
On April 10 at Bennachie Way, he behaved in a threatening or abusive manner by shouting at his wife and acting aggressively, all in the presence of a child, placing them in a state of fear, alarm and distress.
Murphy’s wife told the court he was “mean and nasty” to her during their marriage.
She said she phoned 999 to report that her husband was self-harming.
The mobile phone footage was shown in court several times during the four-day trial.
During cross-examination, depute fiscal Azrah Yousaf said to him: “It’s a bit pathetic isn’t it, you wailing like that.”
She went on: “You’re nothing but a liar and a control freak. You’re trying to refute these allegations because they would cost you your job.”
Murphy claimed he would never hit a woman.
However, Sheriff Charles MacNair said his “bizarre” behaviour in the video helped him form a view about who was telling the truth about the incident.
Sheriff MacNair called for reports including an assessment for a restriction of liberty order.
Murphy will be sentenced on December 11.
It’s understood he has been suspended from the police.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We are aware of the outcome of the case and a report will be made to Assistant Chief Constable for Professionalism and Assurance Alan Spiers for consideration.”
