A disgraced Dundee police officer who tried to bite another father watching after a row during a children's football match has been ordered to do community payback.
PC Darren Moore, who rained punches on the rival spectator, was berated by a sheriff for shaking his head as he sat in the dock at Dundee Sheriff Court.
The court heard how the attack on Derek Wemyss was the second time in a matter of months Moore had been convicted of assault linked to children's football.
He was ordered to carry out 120 hours unpaid work and the court was told that he was currently suspended and would be certain to lose his job with Police Scotland after an internal investigation.
Sheriff Gregor Murray condemned Moore for claiming to social workers that it was a "minor incident" and he should only be fined for it by the court.
"Several aspects of your case are troubling," Sheriff Murray said. "He has essentially said to the social worker this is a minor matter that only justifies a fine or a restriction of liberty order.
"You can shake your head all you want," he told the shamed officer. "But that is what is in the report. I think it is more serious than that.
"Firstly, you took it upon yourself to put yourself in a situation where the assault occurred.
"Secondly, you were a person trained to defuse the possibility of violence - not actively encourage it.
"Thirdly, there is already another offence of a similar nature. All these things would potentially entitle me to impose a custodial sentence."
The court heard how Moore flew into a rage and punched Mr Wemyss around the head and body as a disagreement over the match turned to violence.
In December he was found guilty of attacking an autistic child in another row sparked by a football match being played by young boys.
In the latest case, Moore admitted that on 18 September 2021 at Donalds Lane, Dundee, he attacked Mr Wemyss by punching him on the head and body and trying to bite him on the body to his injury.
Moore, Braes of Gray Road, Dundee, had a second charge of acting in a threatening or abusive manner by shouting, swearing and uttering derogatory remarks dropped by the Crown.
Fiscal depute Sarah Wilkinson told the court that there had been an incident between youngsters during a football match and Mr Wemyss had intervened.
"The accused was observed running towards the location, looking angry. The complainer was contacted to warn him to lock his door," she said.
"The complainer came out and was met in the street by the accused who was remonstrating with him. A struggle ensued, with Mr Wemyss pinning the accused to the ground to prevent further escalation.
"He continued to struggle and tried to bite him to the arms multiple times. The accused punched Mr Wemyss to the head and body.
"The police were contacted and the accused stated to his colleagues 'at best it was a stand-up fight'. He made no response to caution and charge.
"Mr Wemyss had a lump to the back of his head and visible abrasions to his elbows and knees, which were bleeding as a result."
Solicitor Ross Donnelly, defending, said: "He had no previous convictions at the time of this, but he has subsequently been convicted of assault after trial.
"The circumstances of this case appear similar to the matter that went to trial. It also involved an incident at a football match. On the other occasion the complainer was a child."
The same court heard in December how Moore attacked an autistic 13-year-old schoolboy.
A sheriff told Moore she believed the child's evidence was more credible and reliable than his and found him guilty.
Sheriff Alison Michie fined Moore £750 and said: "Both you and the complainer spoke to the fact he was wanting to tell you what happened during the course of the incident on the pitch.
"The issue is who is the aggressor and whether it is the complainer or yourself? Your position was that you did this in self-defence.
"I found the evidence of the complainer and other Crown witnesses to be credible and reliable, and I do not find the position outlined by you to be credible.
"I'm asked to accept that a 13-year-old has approached you for no apparent reason and tried to headbutt you. I did not accept that.
"In your evidence you refused to concede that he was clearly a child at the time. You insisted on calling him 'the male aggressor.'
"His mother speaks to your aggressive demeanour and derogatory remarks about her son and you told her you slapped him.
"You denied that in evidence, but in your Facebook message to your supervising officer you referred to a 'push / slap' to get him away."
Moore, 42, from Dundee, was found guilty of attacking and injuring the 13-year-old boy by "forcefully pressing his hand against his head, pushing him on the body causing him to fall to the ground and striking him on the face."
The boy told the court a group of young children had been playing football in a park when the game ended after a bad tackle led to a stand-up fight.
He said he was walking one of the boys to a nearby shop to get a drink when he was confronted by Moore, who appeared to be aggressive and angry.
"I had never met him before," the teenager, now 16, told the court. "He walked aggressively towards me. I tried to tell him what happened.
"He was bigger than me. He was broader. He put his head on me. I'm sure he grabbed me [on the collar] and punched me on the left cheek.
"It happened that fast I did not have time to think. I fell instantly from the force of the impact from the punch. I have got a picture of the handprint on my face. I went to the hospital."
The boy's friend, now 15, said he saw the attack and noticed how the victim was left feeling anxious and had a large and obvious bruise on his face.
The victim's mother told the court: "He was really upset, saying he had been assaulted. He had marks on his face. He was in distress."
She went to Moore's home to discuss the incident and said: "He was quite aggressive and swearing at me, telling me my son was a little s**t. He said he slapped him."
Moore, who denied the attack and claimed he acted in self-defence, told the trial: "At the time he was a male aggressor. We now know he was a child.
"I put in a strike, from my training, and caught him in the upper chest and face. He lost his footing and has fallen on the ground."
Sheriff Michie rejected former postman Moore's claim that he acted in self-defence and said it would have been obvious that his victim was a young boy.
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