Possibly the finest legal news story of the year so far.
“‘Out of breath’ footballer Garry O’Connor caught by police after 300m dash”
The story itself begins in classic style
“Footballer Garry O’Connor wrongly spelled a false name to police when he was stopped over drug allegations, a court heard.
The Hibernian player then allegedly made a dash from officers – before being caught “out of breath” after only 300m.
The court heard the 29-year-old striker told police his name was “Johnston” before beginning to spell it out as “J…O… S…” He then tried to run away from officers in Edinburgh city centre.”
As the report notes
“When fiscal depute Ian Wallace asked Constable Eager what the footballer initially said his name was, she said he gave the name “Johnstone.” She continued: “I asked him how it was spelt, he replied J…O…S, then didn’t finish. I asked: ‘Come on what’s really your surname?’ At that point he pushed past me and said ‘Got to take a p***.’””
And has led to the defence that
“O’Connor’s defence agent, Liam O’Donnell, said his client’s arrest was unlawful as police had not detained him before he ran away. The evidence against the 29-year-old could, therefore, not be led, he argued. “He had every right to run away,” Mr O’Donnell said.
He added: “He was neither detained nor arrested under any of the available powers and as such he was entitled to run away. He was under no compulsion to stay with the officers. If he’s arrested for something he’s entitled to do then it was unlawful and cannot be admitted.””
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