PICTURE : MARK JAMIESON
A man ignored the pleas of his young children who urged “calm down daddy” and instead, in a 2am incident, he then used his shoulder to barge into the midriff of a police officer, a court heard on Monday.
Owen Orr (25), of Tullyverry Drive, Greysteel, pleaded guilty to assault on police relating to June 24 and was given a four months prison term, suspended for two years, and fined £200. The defendant appeared at Coleraine Magistrates Court which heard police were at an address in Greysteel where
Orr had banged on the front door of his ex-partner’s address and was then upstairs in the house “causing a scene”. He was “shouting and screaming” and children were in telling him “calm down daddy”, the court heard.
Orr was shouting at his ex-partner and then tried to push past police. The court heard Orr ran towards police barging into the mid-riff of an officer with his shoulder.
Defence solicitor Don Mahoney said the defendant wished to apologise to the police officers. He said the defendant, who had three daughters, had spent two days in custody. Mr Mahoney said his client, an unemployed labourer, had a history of mental health problems and had a relatively limited record.
The lawyer said there had been an incident earlier at the defendant’s mother’s house and he had then gone to his ex-partner’s address. Said Mr Mahoney: “He is absolutely sickened by his behaviour in front of his children. No man could take pride in that”.
District Judge Paul Copeland told Orr it was was an “appalling incident in which you disrupted this family with young children, you caused a lot of alarm, distress and upset”. Imposing a suspended jail term, the judge added: “Here you are again in an aggressive mode, taking on all and sundry”.
