Former sergeant knocked out by footballer makes #750,000 claim against
force and club.
THE career of a woman police sergeant was wrecked when a Celtic player
crashed into her during a football match and knocked her unconscious, a
judge heard yesterday.
Former sergeant Rachel Gillon, who became a police cadet at the age of
16, is claiming #750,000 from the Chief Constable of Strathclyde, and
Airdrie Football Club, where she was injured in November 1991.
Lord Coulsfield heard at the Court of Session that, at the time of the
incident at an Airdrie v Celtic game, Mrs Gillon, 35, was on crowd
control round the park perimeter.
She said she had been instructed that this meant facing the crowd at
all times and that officers seen watching the game would be liable for
disciplinary measures. As she was walking the perimeter track, watching
the crowd, a fight broke out. By radio she instructed two colleagues to
deal with that incident and stood facing the crowd as she had been
instructed.
''Suddenly and without warning'', she was hit from behind with great
force by Tony Cascarino as he chased after a ball that had run off the
field of play. She was knocked out and woke up in Monklands District
Hospital in great pain. She was sent home after being X-rayed but later
felt considerable pain in her upper body, right lower back, and right
leg which restricted her freedom of movement.
She returned to work in March 1992, carrying out only light duties,
but because of continuing pain went on sick leave on May 1. She was
medically retired from the police force in December that year and has
not been able to work since.
Mrs Gillon, a mother of two boys aged one and seven, of Glencairn
Road, Langbank, Renfewshire, claims that, since the Broomfield incident,
her life has changed for the worse. She can no longer swim or jog or
enjoy the pleasure of a rough and tumble with her young son. She gave
birth to another son in July last year and said that the extra activity
involved in looking after the baby had caused her further discomfort and
distress.
She said the only medical treatment available was the continued use of
pain-killing tablets and physiotherapy, which provided only short-term
relief. She also alleged that she had become ''morose, depressed,
anxious, and upset'' because she had to give up her promising career in
which she was earning #21,500 a year and her promotion prospects were
first rate.
According to Mrs Gillon, her personality had changed from being a
successful, contented person to being introspective, occasionally
disorganised, and irritable.
In her action, she blamed the chief constable on the basis that it was
his responsibility to devise a safe system of work for officers under
his command when they were policing football grounds. She said he should
have ensured that staff patrolling football grounds had instructions to
pay attention from time to time to what was happening on the field of
play, particularly because of the physical limitations of Airdrie's
Broomfield ground.
If this had been the policy, Mrs Gillon claimed, she might have become
aware of the looming collision with Cascarino, who has since left the
club, and avoided the accident.
In her claim against Airdrie, she said the club should also have taken
reasonable care for the safety of police working at the ground. She
contended that the track surrounding the field of play at Broomfield was
extremely narrow and that there was no separation of the perimeter track
and the pitch.
She argued that a number of measures could have been taken, such as
widening the track, building a small segregation barrier, or placing
advertising hoardings between the field of play and the running track.
Airdrie denied liability and Mr Derek Emslie, QC, counsel for the
club, asked Lord Coulsfied to dismiss Mrs Gillon's claims as irrelevant
on four grounds. He argued that there were no relevant claims to
indicate:
* That there was a foreseeable risk of injury.
* That the failure to build a separating wall or barrier at the edge
of the pitch represented a failure on Airdrie's part to take reasonable
care.
* That a failure to widen the track at Broomfield represented a
failure to take reasonable care.
* There were no sufficiently specific claims to indicate how and by
how much the track should have been widened.
In the case against the chief constable, who also denied liability, it
has been agreed that evidence should be heard in Mrs Gillon's claim.
Lord Coulsfield will give his decision in writing later.
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