By 1919 contributor
A man who bit three police officers and kicked a fourth in the head during a violent rampage was already on two bail orders at the time.
It ultimately took nine officers to bring Reece Duncan under control as he tried to avoid being arrested in Perth city centre.
Duncan, 22, left four officers injured during the incident. He has now been granted bail again pending sentence at Perth Sheriff Court.
He was previously convicted of stabbing a 15-year-old boy and leaving him scarred for life.
As a 15-year-old, Duncan also became the youngest person in Scotland to face a charge under domestic abuse legislation over an incident in 2019, with a courtroom specially convened for his trial because of his age.
In the latest case, Duncan admitted attacking and injuring PC Cameron Phinn by biting him on the body in Mill Street, Perth, on May 25 this year.
He also admitted attacking and injuring PC Danielle Stevens by biting her on the body, and biting PC Jack Garrigan during the same incident.
Duncan, from Perth, further admitted attacking and injuring PC Claire Shimmins as officers struggled to bring him under control.
She was repeatedly kicked in the head during the incident in Mill Street, while Duncan also seized her hand and crushed it against metal handcuffs at Perth police HQ.
Duncan admitted resisting arrest and struggling with nine police officers as they tried to arrest him.
He tensed his arms, placed them under his body, kicked out at officers, went limp and wedged his feet against a cell door to prevent the police van being closed.
Duncan was on two bail orders, imposed in Perth on July 12, 2024, and January 9 this year, when he committed the police assaults.
Sheriff Alison McKay granted him bail again and said: “I gather you are currently on a community payback order. Be absolutely clear this is not a catalogue of behaviour I can deal with today.
“You have taken yourself to the threshold of custody because you have bitten a number of police officers. Taken together, these charges are serious.”
In 2022, Duncan admitted attacking a 15-year-old boy by biting him and repeatedly plunging a pair of scissors into his leg to his severe injury and permanent disfigurement.
Sheriff Alison McKay
The victim, who had stepped in to stop Duncan attacking another schoolboy, needed emergency surgery and lost half a pint of blood.
Duncan also admitted attacking two other 15-year-old boys and threatening several others by telling them he had a knife.
Several other charges, including attempted robbery, attacking a girl at knifepoint and threatening to kill girls for failing to hand over alcohol, were dropped by the Crown.
He was placed on a community order, carried out unpaid work and was ultimately admonished in 2024.
A room which normally housed juries at Perth Sheriff Court was temporarily turned into a courtroom for Duncan’s earlier trial because he was only 15.
He could not be named at the time, as he became the youngest person in Scotland to be prosecuted under legislation aimed at tackling psychological abuse in relationships.
The main charge was thrown out, although Duncan admitted having cannabis, smashing a window and kicking a door, and was referred to the Children’s Panel.
Sheriff Keith O’Mahoney warned him: “You are now 15 and will soon be an adult. If you come back as an adult my thoughts will be entirely different.”
Since the scissors attack, Duncan has also been convicted of other offences including damaging cars with a hammer and swinging a baseball bat at a couple outside his home.