Firefighter who left man with brain bleed after punching him avoids jail

A firefighter who repeatedly punched a man in the head, causing the victim to suffer a bleed on the brain during an attack in Glasgow, has avoided jail.

Declan Quinn, 25, struck the 48-year-old in Ashton Lane in the city’s West End on December 29, 2023.

Quinn was enraged after the man apparently involved himself in a discussion between the attacker and his partner.

The 25-year-old brought the man to the ground and punched him nine times to the head, which knocked him out.

The victim was left alone on the ground by Quinn, who walked off. The man was later found to have suffered a bleed to the brain, which caused temporary amnesia.

First offender Quinn pled guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court to assaulting the man to severe injury and impairment.

Sheriff Iain Fleming ordered Quinn to do 270 hours of unpaid work at sentencing.

He was also tagged for ten months, keeping him indoors between 8pm and 7am.

The court heard that Quinn, of Stepps, Lanarkshire, and his partner had been drinking in the nearby Ubiquitous Chip pub that night.

The victim had been in another bar and headed to the Ubiquitous Chip for a further drink.

CCTV played to in court showed the two men engaged in a discussion on Ashton Lane after midnight.

Prosecutor Lauren Donnelly said: “Quinn took hold of [the victim] and swiped his leg from under him which caused him to fall to the ground.

“Quinn then punched the victim approximately nine times on the head while he was on the ground.

“This caused [the victim] to become unconscious.”

Quinn’s partner could be heard to scream “Declan, Declan” during the assault.

Quinn pulled the man’s unconscious body along the ground to the side of the road before he put him in the recovery position.

Ms Donnelly added: “The CCTV footage shows Quinn walking away leaving [the victim] unconscious in a wet winter’s night.”

A witness and police officers later came across the man, who was still unconscious, and he was taken to hospital.

He was found to have suffered a bleed to the brain, wounds and bruises to his head and cheek as well as a broken ankle.

The man was stated to have temporary amnesia and did not remember the incident when he woke up in hospital.

He also sustained partial deafness to one of his ears from which he has since recovered as well as dizziness and blurred vision.

Ms Donnelly said: “[The victim] was someone who participated in marathons and was a runner and was unable to resume that right now.”

Quinn was later traced and he attended a police station on January 11, 2024.

His lawyer told the court that Quinn dialled 999 after the incident for an ambulance.

Virgil Crawford, defending, also told the court that the victim had earlier involved himself in a “discussion” between Quinn and his partner.

Mr Crawford added: “This resulted in a disagreement between them, which became fairly heated, which culminated in the assault.

“My client was employed with the Scottish Fire Service and is no longer working there after disciplinary proceedings, which were taken before the outcome of these proceedings.”