Coronavirus: Pharmacy staff threatened by 'man with covid'
- Published
Police officers acted "proportionally" while dealing with a man who threatened staff at a pharmacy and ignored social distancing rules, an inquiry has found.
Police were called to the Glasgow pharmacy on 8 May when the 32-year-old man threatened to shoot a member of the public and burn down the premises.
He spat and coughed on a member of staff and told police he had Covid-19.
The man was seriously hurt in police custody but an investigation found the injuries were self-inflicted.
Police Scotland referred the incident to the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner on 11 May.
The report said the man had gone into the pharmacy at about 13:25 and demanded methadone from staff for a full weekend while ignoring social distancing rules.
He verbally abused staff after this was refused and left the building. However, he returned a short time later when he spat and coughed on a member of staff.
A member of the public removed the man from the building and police were called. Officers arrested the man and put him in handcuffs.
'Extreme provocation'
The review said that the 32-year-old told police he had coronavirus.
Officers placed him in a police van where the report found he "deliberately struck his head on a seat causing a cut to his forehead before he then struck his head with handcuffs, further injuring himself".
He was taken to hospital for treatment. The man was later charged and remanded in custody.
Commissioner Michelle Macleod said: "This man's behaviour was extremely concerning and distressing for the pharmacy staff and arresting officers given the seriousness of the current Covid-19 crisis.
"The police officers involved conducted themselves professionally and their response was proportionate and necessary in the face of extreme provocation."