Conditional discharge for man 'playfighting' in street

Court hears police officer swore at 24-year-old

An Onchan man who was charged with a criminal offence after ‘playfighting’ in the street has walked away from court with a conditional discharge.

Lewis Joseph Dwornik, of Royal Court, admitted being drunk in a public place on 6 December during an appearance at Douglas Courthouse.

The court heard police had stopped the 24-year-old at 3.45am when they saw him, and a female friend, on Regent Street in Douglas; they were told to stop pushing each other but didn’t.

Mr Dwornik’s advocate told the court that the police officer had actually sworn in his presence as he was dealing with him adding: "Perhaps that didn’t assist the situation as a whole."

The prosecutor told the court: "The fact is Mr Dwornik just had one too many," before conceding that the swearing was unacceptable.

Issuing him with a 12-month conditional discharge Magistrates told him there were ‘a little surprised’ with the case presented to them adding: “We feel we could have half of the Isle of Man in here next Thursday!”