Jury retires in case of man accused of chasing police with chainsaw

A jury has retired to consider its verdict in the trial of a man who allegedly chased four officers with a chainsaw and attempted to murder them following a car crash.

Liridon Kastrati, 32, is accused of ramming a car into a marked police vehicle and then brandishing a chainsaw at officers in Paisley, Renfrewshire, in broad daylight on May 6, 2024 at about 1.30pm.

The High Court in Paisley previously heard that Kastrati, who does not hold a UK driving licence, took his brother’s car, and it is alleged he drove it at “excessive speed” before mounting the pavement and colliding with a marked police car with two police officers inside.

Kastrati is then alleged to have pulled a chainsaw out of a bag, started it, and wielded it at officers while shouting and swearing before eventually putting the chainsaw down and being arrested.

He denies a single charge of attempting to murder four police officers.

On Monday, Kastrati was acquitted of breach of the peace, stealing a car and motoring offences when the prosecution withdrew those four charges.

The court previously heard that Kastrati was questioned on May 6 without either a solicitor or an Albanian interpreter present, and made reference repeatedly to the collision being a “car accident” when the attempted murder charges were read to him.

On Tuesday, prosecutor John Keenan urged the jury to convict Kastrati, who has been remanded in custody for 18 months.

However, John Scullion KC, defending Kastrati, told the court that Police Scotland carried out a “flawed investigation” into the incident.

He also said the attempted murder charge was not supported by evidence, and told the jury: “Mr Kastrati accepts he removes a chainsaw from the car, he swore, he injured Pc Cowan, he brandished the chainsaw at other officers during this frightening and distressing incident.

“You must convict him of those parts.”

During closing submissions, Mr Keenan said: “The Crown submit the accused deliberately drove at speed into a police car driven by Pc Gary Cowan and Pc Kelly Ferris while it was stationary. After colliding with it he then pursued PC Cowan and other officers, threatening them with a chainsaw with the intention of causing them serious harm.

“I submit you can draw that inference of murderous intent by driving and colliding with the police vehicle but also of the pursuit while wielding an activated chainsaw.”

The prosecutor added: “Immediately after he got out and went a short distance, he returned to the vehicle and removed the chainsaw and activated it. This happened within seconds. If the collision was unintentional, why on earth was that the immediate response?”

He said it was a “reasonable inference to draw” that Kastrati was “intent on causing serious harm”, the court heard.

Mr Keenan added: “Of course, it goes without saying the accused put down the chainsaw and was arrested. That does not detract that he was pursuing Pc Cowan and others with a live chainsaw.”

Mr Scullion said the police investigation had neglected to examine a mobile phone found in the driver’s seat of the VW, and said that it was “charitable” to describe the investigation as “flawed”, claiming it lacked objectivity, the court heard.

He said that Kastrati had multiple occasions to cause harm using the chainsaw and that a distance of between 10 metres and 20 metres was always maintained, and causing someone to fear they would be killed was not the same as attempted murder.

Mr Scullion said: “If the prosecutor is correct that Mr Kastrati attempted to kill someone, why not reach for the chainsaw which was still running, when police closed in to arrest him?

“Pc Ferris said she was dazed after collision, she was extremely vulnerable and, if a person intended to attack her, there was nothing she was able to do to resist at that point. He ran past the police car where she would have been.”

The defence said that extensive tyre marks showed the emergency brakes of the VW Passat had been used and said it was “obvious” to investigate whether Kastrati had been using a mobile phone at the wheel.

Mr Scullion pointed out that Kastrati was not charged with dangerous driving, and said charges were put to the Albanian “without the services of a lawyer but, all the more shockingly, without the services of an interpreter”, the court heard.

Mr Scullion said: “Despite it being perfectly obvious where the VW collided with the police vehicle, the officer chose to charge him with driving a car into the passenger compartment of a marked police vehicle.

“You might think that sums up a lack of neutrality or objectivity shown by police in this investigation.”

The trial continues in front of Judge Gallacher.