A policewoman accused of attacking a care worker with a broken bottle at a party walked free from court on Wednesday.
PC Sherrill Grant was found not guilty by a majority jury verdict of assaulting 49-year-old Karen Murphy in Glasgow's East End in May last year.
Glasgow Sheriff Court heard claims from Ms Murphy that PC Grant had attacked her from behind as she went outside for a cigarette. The court was told that the injuries to Ms Murphy's face left her needing reconstructive surgery.
There was applause and cheers from her family as Ms Grant, 23, of Chalmers Drive, East Kilbride, a police officer with four years service, was cleared of the assault charge. But she will face an internal police disciplinary hearing into the incident.
Initially Grant was also accused of assaulting four other women and a man and breach of the peace at the party at a Duke Street flat on May 17, last year, but the Crown dropped these charges due to lack of evidence during the trial.
Grant's brother Lee was also cleared of attacking five party-goers. These charges were dropped during the trial and the one charge remaining against him a breach of the peace was found not proven.
Ms Grant's mother Margaret Grant - who hugged her daughter as she left the dock - was also originally on trial accused of assaulting two women, but these were also dropped. All three denied the charges against them.
The court earlier heard from Ms Murphy who claimed that on the night of the party she heard "shouting and bawling" coming from one of the bedrooms in the flat before going outside for a cigarette. She said: "After a couple of minutes or so Sherrill Grant came out."
Prosecutor Andrew Beadsworth asked her if Grant said anything to her and she replied "no".
Ms Murphy went on: "She smashed a bottle on the door frame and then raised it above her head and hit me on the back of my head with it. She pulled me back by the hair and then hit me with the bottle again in the face, above my left eye. I was then dragged back into the flat by the hair. I was lying on the floor and I started getting kicked and trampled on."
Mr Beadsworth asked if she saw who was kicking her but she told him that she did not know as she had her eyes shut. Ms Murphy told the court that the next thing she remembers is waking up in one of the bedrooms with paramedics attending her.
She was rushed to Glasgow Royal Infirmary where she received staples to her head and stitches to her face. She now faces reconstructive surgery to repair her eyebrow which is missing.
Defence advocate Paul McBride QC put it to MS Murphy that she was lying about what happened but she denied this.
Mr McBride said: "You are telling us that this police officer with four years service, who has never been in trouble in her life, decided to bottle you at a party for no reason?"
The witness replied: "I don't know why she did it to me."
