Derry Court: Two men who 'willingly and deliberately crossed the line' convicted of disorderly behaviour

Two men have been convicted of disorderly behaviour after body worn footage was shown to Derry Magistrate's Court of them involved in an altercation with police.

Kieran McCool (54) of Ballymagowan Gardens and Kevin Brady (41) of Ballymagowan Avenue both in Derry were charged with disorderly behaviour on November 7 2019.

The court was shown bodyworn footage which showed McCool telling the officer that he is not legally obliged to wear a seat belt and this was the 57th time he had told police this.

As the argument continues McCool tells the officer he is legally obliged to write down his response and when the police officer does so he tells him 'you are a cretin, you are a moron.'

Brady can also be seen arguing with police who want to search him under the Justice and Security Act.

Defence solicitor Paddy MacDermott said the footage captures the incident and argued that it was more 'banter' rather than disorderly behaviour.

He said that the two men were trying to make their way past police and no member of the public had been offended or had made a complaint.

The solicitor said that it was like 'a cat and mouse game'.

Deputy District Judge Trevor Browne said the longer he had watched the footage 'the worse it became'.

He said that the men had 'willingly and deliberately crossed the line.'

He convicted both men of disorderly and imposed a sentence of three months suspended for 18 months.