Page 34 Daily Mail, Wednesday, August 28, 2019
TOO VIOLENT
FOR THE DOCK
Judge is forced to sentence
machete thug in police van
THIS is the moment a judge
set up a makeshift court
outside a prison van to sen-
tence a thug for a machete
attack – because he was too
violent to be allowed out.
Hurling abuse and threats and
throwing himself against the
armoured vehicle’s sides, Harri-
son Long, 28, could not be
restrained by security staff and
brought to the dock.
After hearing the defendant was
too dangerous for court, judge Peter
Paterson left the bench yesterday
and went out to conduct the sen-
tencing hearing outside instead.
At an earlier trial, Long had been
convicted of an appalling assault onhe was ‘framed’ after a row erupted
with the dog’s owner.
Mr Hendrie told the Daily Record:
‘I suddenly saw this guy appear wear-
ing a balaclava, padded clothing and
carrying a massive blade.
‘He was swinging the machete
towards us. I tried to grab him and
got caught with it on the elbow.
‘I hadn’t even noticed I’d been hurt
until someone in the bookies pointed
out the blood. I looked and I could
see my bone.’
After being detained, Long bit a
police officer and conducted a dirty
protest in his cell.
Long had also chased another man
with a metal baton in a separate inci-
dent. The victim had found Long in
bed with his girlfriend.Daily Mail ReporterMakeshift court: Judge Peter
Paterson, left, outside the van‘Carrying a
massive blade’42-year-old Colin Hendrie. Locked
behind a grille in the police van, Long
screamed that his solicitor was
‘sacked’, adding: ‘I’ve got the right to
represent myself.’
Sheriff Paterson, who was sitting at
Selkirk Sheriff Court in the Scottish
Borders, offered the defendant a
chance to speak his piece, but Long
simply shouted further obscenities
and repeatedly slammed the door
and sides of the van, blocking out
much of what was said.
The judge sentenced him to
21 months in prison – for the assault,
a protest at a police station, biting
an officer and assaulting three oth-
ers – then returned to the courtroom
to complete his afternoon business.
Long had been arrested in a raid by
armed police after carrying out the
attack in Selkirk on February 3.
He brandished the two-foot weapon
at five people who claimed he had
earlier battered a Staffordshire bull
terrier, the trial was told. Long said