A GREENOCK man was battered and beaten by up to ten baton-wielding police officers who had just smashed up his car, the sheriff court has heard.
Scott Donnelly told a jury that he was struck around 20 times and left severely injured by a posse of PCs whom he says targeted him and his BMW in the town.
The dad-of-two was cleared of a total of five indictment charges - including dangerous driving and knife possession - after taking to the witness box during his trial.
Donnelly, 45, told the court: "My driver and passenger side windows were smashed then pretty much immediately I was being struck with batons from both sides.
"The rear window was completely smashed, the front windscreen had a huge shatter and was completely discoloured; you couldn't see into it. Every single window had been hit."
Donnelly said he was in a state of 'disbelief and confusion', adding that officers began beating him with their batons.
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He said: "I was struck maybe around 20 times before I managed to put my hands up.
"Police officers were screaming at me to exit the vehicle but I physically couldn't because my seatbelt was on and I was being struck.
"There was an officer standing at my door hitting me with a baton so I couldn't leave.
"I was trying to tell the officer at the passenger side to stop hitting me and let me exit the vehicle.
"I was desperate to get out, so I stood out of the vehicle then I was pulled forward onto the pavement and face first onto the floor.
"I thought then that the batons would stop but they didn't, they carried on while I was lying face down on the ground."
A police sergeant told the court earlier that Donnelly's driving was 'fast' and 'careless' and he was ignoring police instructions before 'lashing out' at officers.
After the court was shown graphic photos of Donnelly's injuries, defence solicitor Aidan Gallagher asked the police witness whether he knew how the bruising may have been sustained.
The sergeant, who confirmed that 'probably the whole shift' turned up at the scene, replied: "Nope. I haven’t got a clue."
The jury cleared Donnelly of speeding away from police, mounting a footpath in his two-door BMW 430d M Sport coupe, colliding with police cars, driving towards officers and struggling violently in an effort to prevent handcuffs being applied.
He was found guilty of failing without reasonable excuse to provide a sample of his breath for analysis.
The trial heard that the joiner was returning from work in Glasgow on December 17, 2021, when he came to the attention of police at around 7.30pm.
Donnelly said that westbound traffic had been backed up on East Hamilton Street due to what appeared to be a police incident at the Cartsdyke Roundabout, next to McDonald's.
He said he decided to take an alternative route home by travelling up Ratho Street towards St Lawrence Street and eventually realised he was being followed by blue lights.
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He claimed 'strikes were coming down all over my body', adding: "To me it lasted a lifetime.
"I was in pain, I had blood streaming from my head, nose and mouth. I had a large lump on my eye.
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"Due to my injuries I felt totally beaten up, dazed and confused, trying to get my head together as to what had just happened.
"I could think of absolutely no reason for it."
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Prosecutor Raeesa Ahmed told the jury: "You may think that this is all one big conspiracy by the police to get that man.
"Mr Donnelly was not the victim in all of this."
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Solicitor Mr Gallagher said: "[Donnelly] has taken what is often described as the longest walk in the courtroom, from the dock to the witness box.
"And he has told you what happened that night and what happened was police officers were, to say the least, over-zealous.
"You can see the consequence of what happened in those photographs.
"We would always want to live in a perfect world where everyone tells the truth but quite clearly we have not had that with what we have heard from police."
The jury of ten women and five men took around three hours to reach majority not guilty verdicts on five of the six charges.
Donnelly, of Partridge Road, is to be sentenced on October 18 regarding his failure to provide a breath sample.
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