being found guilty of assaulting a Police officer.

George Macdonald Palmer, 54, of Cobbs Hill Road, denied assaulting Det. Con.

David Abraham at the Hamilton Police Station on June 28 last year.

Det. Con. Abraham testified in Magistrates' Court that around 1.45 p.m. on that day Palmer was brought into the jail area of the station after being arrested in connection with an alleged wounding.

Det. Con. Abraham added that Palmer was "apparently intoxicated and smelled of liquor''.

"As I spoke to him, Mr. Palmer became very angry and used profanity toward me,'' Det. Con. Abraham said. "I told him to calm down and he waved his left hand in my face.

"He said: `I will kill you and burn your house down. I will kill all you cops. I will see you all outside, especially you.' "Then he lunged at me with an open hand. I pushed him backward and he fell against the wall. I took hold of his arm and told him I was going to report him for his behaviour. He made no reply.'' P.c. Krishna Singh, who was jailer at the time of the incident, agreed with his colleague but added that he saw Palmer hit his right eyebrow on the wall when pushed by Det. Con. Abraham.

But Palmer called both officers "pathetic liars'' before taking the witness stand in his defence. "I was arrested on Front Street by another officer,'' Palmer said. "I was taken to the Hamilton Police Station where Abraham asked me about some wounding. I told him I had no recollection of that.

"He didn't seem to believe me and got argumentative. I went into the jail area to get away from him.'' After hearing the testimonies given by all three men, Senior Magistrate Will Francis granted Palmer a six-month conditional discharge.