Police officer cleared of lying under oath

A GRAMPIAN Police officer has been cleared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court of attempting to pervert the course of justice and lying under oath.

Geoffrey Smart, 29, was accused of giving false information to an assault suspect during a 2009 interview in an attempt to make him admit to being at the scene.

But a jury of 10 women and five men took less than an hour to find the charge against Pc Smart not proven and further found him not guilty of allegations that he had violated his duties as a police officer.

Pc Smart, whose address was listed in court papers as care of Aberdein Considine solicitors in Aberdeen, had denied attempting to pervert the course of justice and neglecting his duties as a police officer between March and June 2009.