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| Fine for police light stripogram | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A male stripper convicted of impersonating a police officer and pulling over other drivers using flashing lights has avoided jail. | A male stripper convicted of impersonating a police officer and pulling over other drivers using flashing lights has avoided jail. |
| Stuart Kennedy, 26, known as Sgt Eros, fitted a white strobe light to the dashboard of his car to stop motorists on Aberdeenshire roads last June. | |
| Kennedy was fined £400, given 200 hours of community service, and placed on probation at Peterhead Sheriff Court. He told the BBC Scotland news website he planned to appeal the conviction. | |
| Sheriff Marysia Lewis said she had to consider the "unusual nature" of this case. | Sheriff Marysia Lewis said she had to consider the "unusual nature" of this case. |
| Not only was your behaviour unacceptable, it was irresponsible Sheriff Marysia Lewis | |
| She said: "On one view, taking on the designation of a police officer to procure a reaction in others is deserving of a custodial sentence. | She said: "On one view, taking on the designation of a police officer to procure a reaction in others is deserving of a custodial sentence. |
| "It is a matter of concern that you still do not fully appreciate the impact which your behaviour had on the civilian witnesses. They all initially believed you to be a police officer. | "It is a matter of concern that you still do not fully appreciate the impact which your behaviour had on the civilian witnesses. They all initially believed you to be a police officer. |
| "In response to your activities on the road, they reacted by stopping their vehicles. Your actions caused alarm, fear, worry, upset and annoyance to members of the public on separate occasions. Not only was your behaviour unacceptable, it was irresponsible." | "In response to your activities on the road, they reacted by stopping their vehicles. Your actions caused alarm, fear, worry, upset and annoyance to members of the public on separate occasions. Not only was your behaviour unacceptable, it was irresponsible." |
| Sheriff Lewis went on: "I can only impose a custodial sentence if satisfied that there is no other way of dealing with you. | Sheriff Lewis went on: "I can only impose a custodial sentence if satisfied that there is no other way of dealing with you. |
| "This is a case which can be dealt with by an alternative to custody. I am proposing to impose a combination of fine, community service order and probation." | "This is a case which can be dealt with by an alternative to custody. I am proposing to impose a combination of fine, community service order and probation." |
| Weapon unoffensive | Weapon unoffensive |
| The earlier trial heard Kennedy was on his way to carry out a strip act at the Palace Hotel in Peterhead when the first incident, involving 21-year-old delivery driver James Buchan, happened. | The earlier trial heard Kennedy was on his way to carry out a strip act at the Palace Hotel in Peterhead when the first incident, involving 21-year-old delivery driver James Buchan, happened. |
| A few hours later, he pulled over off-duty firefighter Jamie Lawrie with his strobe light on the A90 Aberdeen to Peterhead road. | A few hours later, he pulled over off-duty firefighter Jamie Lawrie with his strobe light on the A90 Aberdeen to Peterhead road. |
| The stripper, who described himself as an entertainer, said it was company policy to wear a jacket over his police costume and said it would have been impossible for other drivers to see it. | The stripper, who described himself as an entertainer, said it was company policy to wear a jacket over his police costume and said it would have been impossible for other drivers to see it. |
| The trial at Peterhead Sheriff Court heard of concerns of motorists | The trial at Peterhead Sheriff Court heard of concerns of motorists |
| Asked if he had deliberately given the impression he was driving a police car, he replied: "No, I had absolutely nothing to gain from that. I just wanted to get to work." | Asked if he had deliberately given the impression he was driving a police car, he replied: "No, I had absolutely nothing to gain from that. I just wanted to get to work." |
| Kennedy was found guilty of fitting his car with a flashing light, two charges of impersonating a police officer, and of having a police uniform and equipment in his possession the following day, after a three-day trial. | Kennedy was found guilty of fitting his car with a flashing light, two charges of impersonating a police officer, and of having a police uniform and equipment in his possession the following day, after a three-day trial. |
| Kennedy's act has landed him in court several times before. | Kennedy's act has landed him in court several times before. |
| Judges had previously ruled the police stripogram's truncheon was not an offensive weapon. | Judges had previously ruled the police stripogram's truncheon was not an offensive weapon. |
| He was charged and put on trial after his act drew the attention of Grampian Police in Aberdeen. | He was charged and put on trial after his act drew the attention of Grampian Police in Aberdeen. |
| Charges of having an offensive weapon in a public place without a reasonable excuse were thrown out by a sheriff. | Charges of having an offensive weapon in a public place without a reasonable excuse were thrown out by a sheriff. |
| The Crown appealed, but judges at the Justiciary Appeal Court in Edinburgh backed the sheriff. | The Crown appealed, but judges at the Justiciary Appeal Court in Edinburgh backed the sheriff. |
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