Mounted police officer sues for £1m over Hampden horse fall
A mounted police officer on duty in Dumbarton. Picture by Bill Heaney
A retired Police Scotland mounted officer is seeking £1m damages after her horse fell on her while she was on duty at a football match.
Alison’s Scott’s right leg was trapped under the animal and she suffered serious injuries to her foot and ankle.
Mrs Scott, 50, was unable to return to work after the incident outside Hampden Park in Glasgow on 17 March 2013.
Her action against the former chief constable of Police Scotland, Phil Gormley, pictured left, is being contested.
In the case at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, the former officer maintains that her mount, Tobermory, had a history of behavioural issues.
These are said to have included unpredictability, aggression and falls.
It is claimed the fall in which she was injured was the sixth to be suffered by the horse, which has since died.
Mrs Scott, from South Ayrshire, said she was part of a mounted detail taking part in policing at Hampden for the CIS Cup Final between St Mirren and Hearts.
She claims her horse kicked out at another police horse next to it, striking its hind leg and drawing blood.
Mrs Scott was on duty at the 2013 CIS Cup Final when St Mirren beat Hearts
Mrs Scott said she later tried to move Tobermory out of the line of horses on duty to prevent further incident, but “he suddenly and without warning lost his footing and fell over”.
The horse was later sent to a horse welfare centre in Deeside but fell again and was put down in 2015.
Mrs Scott was medically retired from her job as a police officer in 2014. It is said she has been unable to return to riding, which she previously did competitively at show jumping events.
The chief constable insists she was a trained and experienced rider within the mounted branch and the service fulfilled all its common law duties to her.
A full hearing in the action is set down for three weeks of court time and is due to begin next week.