A North Canterbury man must pay $500 to a policeman for burning him on the arm with a cigarette during a traffic stop.
Shane Martin Waterman, of Waikari, 70km north of Christchurch, North Canterbury, was stopped at nearby Balcairn, at 10am on May 7.
The 38-year-old had been clocked doing 114kmh in a 100kmh area, police prosecutor Sergeant Lisa Goodson told Christchurch District Court today.
He was given a ticket and at one point the officer reached through the car window for the keys.
That was when Waterman pushed a burning cigarette into his forearm causing a burn 10mm across.
Defence counsel Richard McGuire said Waterman had been suffering from a severe headache and had reacted poorly, but conceded the officer was acting quite appropriately.
Waterman was an ACC beneficiary on medication because of an earlier incident. He had apologised to the police officer for the incident, which resulted in him being "taken to the ground" at the scene.
Judge Philip Moran told Waterman: "This was a pretty nasty thing to do to a police officer who was only doing his job."
He ordered Waterman to pay $500 reparation to the officer for emotional harm, at $30 a week.
Waterman had pleaded guilty to the charge of assaulting the officer.
