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POLICE used CS gas to subdue a woman
threatening them with three knives.
Waving the weapons at two officers
seated in a patrol car, she flung herself across the bonnet of the
vehicle.
Paisley Sheriff Court heard she
threatened to stab the officers, who had been called to sort out a
row between Morag McManus, 57, and a taxi driver.
Depute fiscal Jonathan Miller said:
"They used what is described as tactical communication while
remaining inside the vehicle.
"They told her to drop the knives and
step away, and used CS spray to take control of the situation."
The court heard the circumstances
leading up to the incident were "somewhat bizarre in nature".
Police were called to McManus's home
in Auchentorlie Quadrant, Seedhill, Paisley, in February after she
accused a taxi driver of taking her "on a circuitous route".
At first, she refused to pay the fare,
but by the time police had arrived she had "reluctantly coughed up",
said Mr Miller.
He added that would have been the end
of the matter had she not suddenly re-emerged from her house,
brandishing three kitchen knives she had bought that day.
McManus, a shop assistant, pleaded
guilty to unlawful possession of three knives in a public place.
She also admitted conducting herself
in a disorderly manner, shouting, swearing, throwing herself on to
the bonnet of the police vehicle, threatening the officers inside
and committing a breach of the peace.
The court heard that McManus had three
failed marriages, the last of which had been such a traumatic
experience that she had been prescribed anti-depressants.
On the day of the offences she had
consumed alcohol which, combined with her medication, had left her
with a "very hazy" recollection of what had happened.
She had spent a night in the cells and
had been "extremely remorseful" the next day, even phoning the
police station to apologise.
Sheriff Susan Sinclair described her
conduct as serious and warned that courts would not tolerate the use
of knives when threatening behaviour was involved.
But she added that she would restrict
sentence to a fine of £500 because of the highly unusual
circumstances.
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