A POLICE officer who claimed a Dumbarton man threatened to kill him admitted he made a mistake by never writing details of the alleged offence down in his notebook.

PC Martin Blue was giving evidence against Scott Chisholm at Dumbarton Sheriff Court last week when he acknowledged his error under cross examination from the defendant’s lawyer.

But the problem was underlined further when PC Blue’s fellow officer who was on duty with him during the supposed incident on November 29, 2018, said he couldn’t recall anything happening at all.

Chisholm, 41, of Westcliff, was outside Dumbarton police office as the shift was changing just after 7am on the day in question.

He had been brought from hospital because there was a means enquiry warrant out for his arrest over an alleged non-payment of a fine.

PC Blue, 35, told the court Chisholm was arrested and given a formal criminal caution as he would do in many other cases.

Then, as handcuffs were put on him, it was claimed, Chisholm said: “I know you - you’re a dead man” to the officer.

Chisholm was apparently warned about his behaviour, but the court heard, he again made a threat.

He was put in a police van, but just before it arrived in Greenock police office, PC Blue said Chisholm began to kick and headbutt the side of it.

Officers got out and “carefully” laid Chisholm on his side on the ground, taking the handcuffs off and then moving his arms behind him and reapplying them.

Chisholm, said PC Blue, continued to swing his arms back and forth and said: “Yous are f****** dead.”

But then he calmed down as they brought him to the charge bar at the station.

Chisholm’s defence solicitor, Tom Brown, questioned why PC Blue cautioned his client and didn’t say why.

PC Blue said Chisholm was arrested on the means enquiry warrant.

The officer, who said he had more than eight years experience on the force, repeated his evidence that Chisholm was calm outside Dumbarton police office, then made the remark, then was calm again en route to Greenock, then kicked off again, and finally was calm again.

“Does it make sense so you,” asked Mr Brown.

When PC Blue said he couldn’t say, Sheriff John Hamilton repeated the question.

“It didn’t make sense, no,” admitted PC Blue.

Mr Brown asked if the officer had written any of this down.

“I didn’t have time at the time,” said PC Blue. When pressed, he said he was recounting Chisholm’s statements from memory.

The crime report submitted to the procurator fiscal wasn’t written until 4am on Christmas Eve, nearly a month later, heard the court.

“Did you remember those phrases?” asked Mr Brown.

PC Blue said he did and said it was “an error on my part” not to write them down sooner.

PC Christopher Fraser, who has one year of experience, told the court the means enquiry warrant was over the sum of £420.

He said: “I cannot really recall much - just we conveyed him up to Greenock.”

Fiscal depute Kara Watt asked what he was doing and PC Fraser, 30, said: “I cannot recall.”

Ms Watt cut her questions short at that point and Sheriff Hamilton dismissed the witness. Ms Watt withdrew the charges of resisting arrest and shouting, swearing, striking the police vehicle and making threats of violence.

Sheriff Hamilton acquitted him of the charges, but Chisholm wasn’t finished in court yet.

He then pleaded guilty to a separate incident of possession of cannabis resin on Hawthornehill Road, also Dumbarton, on April 28 last year.

The case recalled later on that day in front of Sheriff Maxwell Hendry who allowed an existing drug treatment and testing order to continue, and sentence was deferred until February 15 for him to be of good behaviour.