Sheriff tells soldier he has been let down by his country
A north soldier who served in the Balkan and Iraq conflicts, escaped a prison term when a Sheriff told him reports before her indicated he appeared to have been let down by his country.
Sentence had been deferred for background reports on former Parachute regiment member Brian Fraser (43) from Kiltarlity, Inverness, when he admitted at an earlier hearing presenting a knife at a man next to a taxi rank in Castle Wynd then behaving in a threatening or abusive manner towards police when he was later traced to a taxi near Bunchrew on August 15 last year.
But Fraser’s solicitor, Shahid Latif, told Sheriff Neilson before his client was sentenced at Inverness Sheriff Court today he had given years of public service to his country.
He said although he was no going to reveal all of the doctor’s report before the court, “it’s little surprise Fraser was left with a sense of abandonment and it is a matter of shame on those who put him in this position. He descended into an alcoholic fugue and one is well able to join the dots.”
At the earlier hearing Sheriff Neilson heard from depute fiscal Roderick Urquhart how Connor Murray was standing in front of the queue at a taxi rank on Castle Wynd when Fraser pushed in front of him.
An argument followed, Mr Murray pushed him aside and told Fraser to go away but then people standing in the queue heard Fraser make a comment about stabbing Mr Murray.
“Murray, fearing for his safety immediately ran away from the taxi rank. Ten minutes later he approached a police car in Queensgate and reported the incident to them.”
Mr Urquhart said Mr Murray was “visibly shocked” and another man who had been in the queue reported the incident by mobile phone.
Officers realised from the description given to them by Mr Murray who they were looking for and, along with a police dog, made their way along the A862 Inverness to Beauly road stopping all taxis in an attempt to trace him.
Eventually at about 4.10am they found Fraser in a taxi near Bunchrew and detained him.
A knife was found in his jacket and he told them he kept it for combat training and to protect himself against punks.
When he was told he was being arrested be began struggling violently with the police and eventually he was brought to the ground and handcuffs and leg restraints were applied.
Mr Urquhart said Fraser then shouted threats at the police that he would have them all executed and he knew paratroopers would “have their heads off”.
When charged he told police he panicked because of what happened to him in the past in the military.
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Referring to the background reports on Fraser, who wore his service medals as he sat in the dock, Mr Latif said he was described as an intelligent man “with a range of experiences no one will ever truly understand”.
The events on August 15 were “regrettable not inexplicable” and these could be traced back through the contents of the reports added Mr Latif.
The solicitor referred to Fraser’s “combat exposure” which left him with post traumatic stress and resulted in the disintegration of his life.
“Without minimising the events of last year I would suggest there is an alternative to custody,” he added.
Mr Latif said Fraser was now the sole carer for his elderly mother so an unpaid work element of any non custodial disposal would be a problem.
Sheriff Neilson placed Fraser on year long supervision order with a requirement that he accepts mental health treatment.
“There are highly unusual and exceptional circumstances in this case. You have given years of public service and you appear to have been let down by society when you yourself were needing help.”
The sheriff added that given the service Fraser had given his country she was not going to impose an unpaid work order.
