Attacks on police 'shameful and cowardly' after weekend of violence

Police Scotland say attacks on its officers are “shameful and cowardly” after a weekend of violent incidents across Scotland.

Officers were assaulted during a disturbance on Congress Road, the street outside the OVO Hydro in Glasgow, around 11.10pm on Saturday.

Footage circulated on social media showed a large group of men trading punches following a Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) event.

Two men, aged 32 and 27, were arrested and charged with offences including assault, obstructing police and threatening and abusive behaviour.

Three men were arrested and issued with recorded police warnings for threatening and abusive behaviour and breach of the peace.

Three officers were assaulted during the disorder, with two of them requiring medical treatment.

‘Highly unlikely to return’

John Swinney called the attacks on police officers “totally unacceptable”.

He said: “There is absolutely no place for violence on the streets of Scotland, on any occasion, and the events at the weekend outside the Hydro were completely and utterly unacceptable.

“And the involvement of any attacks on members or our emergency services is totally unacceptable.”

STV News understands that bare-knuckle boxing is highly unlikely to return to the Hydro as the promoter behind the venue “strongly condemned” the scenes.

A spokesperson for the SEC said: “Saturday’s event was attended by around 9,000 people and was delivered safely within the venue, following extensive planning with the promoter, Police Scotland and other relevant parties.

“We are aware of a number of incidents outside the venue after the event which we strongly condemn, and we are supporting Police Scotland with their enquiries.

“We consider all events on merit and are carrying out a full review, as we do following every show. This will inform our thinking on hosting similar such events in the future.”

Officers struck with car and attacked on bus

In a separate incident, an officer was struck by a car which was stopped by police in Midlothian.

A 23-year-old man who was driving the car struck one of the three officers in attendance around 8.15am on Saturday. The officer had to be taken to hospital for treatment.

The driver was arrested and charged and was expected to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Monday.

In a third incident, officers were violently attacked as they dealt with a disturbance on a bus in Edinburgh around 10.35am on Friday.

Two officers were treated by paramedics at the scene.

A 38-year-old man arrested and charged in connection with this incident was also due to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Monday.

Deputy Chief Constable Alan Speirs said: “This weekend we saw a catalogue of violent incidents across Scotland, with officers being injured, assaulted and requiring hospital treatment as they attended calls during their shifts.

“These acts against our officers are shameful and cowardly. Not one of those officers left their home and families to go to work and expected to become a victim of assault. Being assaulted is simply not part of being a police officer.

“Our latest performance figures show that every day on average 21 officers are assaulted on duty. We are seeing a difference due to the actions to reduce the impact of violence towards officers as part of our Your Safety Matters programme and the introduction of Body Worn Video. However, assaulting our officers is simply unacceptable.

“We place the highest priority on the safety and wellbeing of our officers and anyone who has been assaulted is encouraged to make use of the support which is available.”