Scots cop cleared of attack on wife in row over dog after sheriff says she thought he lied

A sheriff told a police officer she thought he lied in evidence about an alleged attack on his wife in a row over a dog - then acquitted him.

Sheriff Clare Arias said she "simply did not believe" what Police Constable Alexander Buntine claimed happened between him and his estranged wife, Lynsey.

But she cleared the former soldier over the incident after saying that she did believe his wife, who had admitted she had placed her hands on him.

PC Buntine went on trial at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court charged with assaulting his wife to her injury and behaving in a threatening or abusive way.

The case stemmed from an incident at their former family home in Darvel, East Ayrshire, in August this year.

The court heard the cop, who has been an officer for 18 months, was living in the house alone at the time as his wife and children had moved out.

She went to the property to get a dog, expecting Buntine, who served in the British Army for 12 years, to be out.

But Buntine, now of Kilmarnock, was in and an argument broke out over the pet, leading to them placing hands on each other.

Buntine told the court the dog was his and had been a Christmas present in 2023, but she said the dog was a family pet and was not solely his.

Lynsey's 999 call was played to the court. In it she said he was shouting and swearing at her, calling her "a f****** cow" and "a f****** bitch".

She said in court that she could not remember them being said to her.

She said that he pushed her, that her hand hit the wall, that he tried to grab a dog leash from her hand, and that she fell back and landed on the stairs.

She admitted she "did fight back" and was first to place hands on him, saying she pushed him away by the neck but denied choking him.

He had lodged a special defence of self-defence, saying that he raised his hands to her because she had raised hers to him.

The 37-year-old claimed she had choked him, holding her hand on his neck for "eight to 10 seconds" and had "squeezed for two seconds".

He said he released her grip by using techniques learned on police training courses on how to deal with being choked.

He added: "She grabbed me by the throat and pushed me back against a wall.

"I realised I needed to do something. It was fairly tight. I could feel it restricting my flow.

"She was saying things through gritted teeth. She was spitting venom at me." 

He claimed she also said he would lose his job as a result of the incident and warned: "I'll make sure of it."

The court was shown pictures of injuries both claimed they sustained during the incident - on her shoulder, wrist and hand, and on his neck.

Sheriff Clare Arias acquitted him of both charges yesterday afternoon, Monday, December 29, 2025.

She said: "In general terms I didn't find you to be an impressive witness - there were aspects of your evidence I simply did not believe.

"By contrast I found your wife to be truthful and she made concessions at points.

"Largely because of the way in which your wife gave her evidence, I find the self-defence has been made out."

She found him not guilty of assault to injury and found the threatening or abusive behaviour charge not proven.