Judge pulls gun on defendant

A JUDGE pulled a gun on a crutch-swinging defendant who went berserk in a crowded rural courtroom after being found guilty of harassment.

A police officer shot and wounded the man, who had a plaster cast on his leg, after he lunged at Judge Carlton Teel and tried to grab the weapon, authorities in Goodwater, Alabama, said.

But some witnesses disputed the account, saying the man never threatened the judge.

Struck by at least one bullet, the man, identified by witnesses as Bryant Ford, was taken by helicopter to the hospital at the University of Alabama in Birmingham, where he was said to be in a good condition.

Court records showed that Ford, 25, was due in court on a harassment charge filed by a neighbour who claimed he swore at her in December after accusing her of talking to police about him. Judge Teel heard the case without a jury and the trial lasted less than five minutes.