Man brandished knife at police officers

A MAN who repeatedly dialled for the emergency services to request a taxi before brandishing a knife in front of police officers had sentence deferred when he appeared before Lerwick Sheriff Court on Monday.

John Albert Cutt, 69, of St Sunniva St, Lerwick, appeared from custody and admitted to breaching the peace and resisting arrest before struggling violently with police while holding the knife.

Procurator fiscal Duncan MacKenzie said two police officers had attended Cutt’s house at his own request at 1.15am on Sunday and had found him to be extremely drunk.

He has a “chronic alcohol problem” and had made a series of “bizarre” requests for taxis and medical help and began shouting and swearing at police, before picking up a knife and refusing to relinquish it when the officers tried to arrest him.

Defence agent Tommy Allan said Cutt, who lives alone and has been retired since 1990, recently had his phone cut off so that the only outward calls he could make were to the emergency services.

Police officers had told him he could only dial 999 in the case of an emergency, at which point he threatened to give them an emergency by sticking the knife into himself. The officers were eventually able to gain control of Cutt, but Mr MacKenzie said it was clear his behaviour was fuelled by his drinking.

Sheriff Graeme Napier said he would defer sentence for six months for Cutt to be of good behaviour. He will appear in court again on 14th January.