Woman who attacked off-duty Inverness police officer spared jail

Press and Journal

22-04-2025

A woman attacked an off-duty policewoman on an Inverness street, leaving her unable to work for three days.
Demi Maclennan dragged the officer to the ground and repeatedly struck her.
At one point during the vicious assault, McLennan clawed inside the officer's mouth.
When she was taken to the police station, she made offensive racial comments towards another officer.
Maclennan, 29, appeared for sentencing at Inverness Sheriff Court having previously admitted a charge of assault to injury as well as one of racially aggravated threatening or abusive behaviour.
Fiscal depute David Morton told the court that on December 29 2023 the officer had finished her shift and was wearing civilian clothing as she walked to her car along Church Street.
'She came upon an incident where Miss Maclennan and a number of others were shouting and causing disorder outside some licenced premises,' he said.
The court heard the officer was waiting for other police resources when she heard a female scream behind her.
'She went to turn around and felt herself being hit on the back of the head,' the fiscal depute explained.
She saw Maclennan in front of her and shouted that she was a police officer, but was dragged to the ground where she was repeatedly struck and scratched, as well as being kicked to the head.
'At one point, Miss Maclennan inserted her fingers into the officer's mouth and attempted to scratch the inside of her cheek,' Mr Morton told Sheriff Neil Wilson.
The court heard that members of the public intervened, and Maclennan was subsequently arrested.
The officer suffered scratches to her face and a lump to the side of her head as well as general bruising and was absent from work for three days as a result.
Following her arrest Maclennan was taken to Burnett Road Police Station but during a delay where she was required to wait in the police vehicle she begam shouting at the officer, accusing him of being a paedophile.
She also told him: 'I don't want to talk to you black man, I want to talk to an English speaking officer.'
Solicitor Graham Mann, for Maclennan, told the court that his client had become involved and 'escalated the matter way beyond where it should have been'.
He said it had come as a real 'embarrassment' to Maclennan, adding: 'She has never behaved like this before.'
Sheriff Neil Wilson said: 'This was an unprovoked attack culminating in you kicking somebody to the head.
He placed Maclennan, of Union Street, Inverness, on a community payback order with 180 hours of unpaid work in the community.
He told her: 'Make no mistake, this is imposed as a direct alternatvie to sentencing you to prison.
'If you do not comply, the matter will be brought back to court, you will be breached, and you will be sent to prison.'