Latest news with #Tasered
Wales Online
11-07-2025
- Wales Online
Airport armed police officer denies 'red mist' came over him when he kicked suspect in the head
Airport armed police officer denies 'red mist' came over him when he kicked suspect in the head PC Zachary Marsden told a court he suffered blows to the head and wanted to "stun" suspect Lawyer Aamer Anwar, centre, arrives at an earlier hearing with Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, left, and Muhammed Amaad, right (Image: Peter Powell/PA Wire ) A police officer has denied he kicked a prone suspect in the head because he was 'furious'. PC Zachary Marsden told a court he was worried that his Glock semi-automatic weapon would be snatched during an alleged assault at Manchester Airport. PC claimed he was 'strangled' and suffered 10 to 15 blows to his head when he confronted two brothers at the Terminal 2 arrivals pay station car park on July 23 2024. Under cross examination at Liverpool Crown Court the officer defended his actions. Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 20, and Muhammad Amaad, 26, both of Tarnside Close in Rochdale, deny assaulting armed police officers. They claim they acted in self-defence. Mohammed Fahir Amaaz was captured throwing 10 punches, two 'elbow strikes' and one kick. Muhammad Amaad, was seen throwing six punches in CCTV footage played to the jury, the Manchester Evening News reports. Jurors were also shown footage of armed police officer PC Zachary Marsden, kicking Mr Amaaz in the face while he was on the ground after being Tasered. The video also appears to show the officerthen aim a stamp at his head. Under cross examination by Mr Amaaz's KC Imran Khan on July 8 PC Marsden agreed he kicked the suspect after he had been Tasered and was on the floort. The KC said Mr Amaaz was on the ground and he asked the constable whether he was aware he was speaking to his mother. "Not speaking to his mother. A person, yes," he replied. Article continues below PC Marsden said he 'could not comment' on what the woman was doing to Mr Amaaz. "It looks like she's got her hands on his back," he said. The KC suggested the person appeared to be caring for Mr Amaaz. The officer said he had only 'three seconds' to make a decision and what he saw was the woman start to pull Mr Amaaz away from him. "I wasn't looking at the woman. I was looking at the threat," he said. Asked by Mr Khan whether he was 'making things up as you go along', PC Marsden said: "I believe she's pulling him away from me." The officer added: "I have not watched this footage. I choose not to because of the distress it brings me." PC Marsden said at the time he was considering his options which included using pepper spray, his baton or whether to wait and see whether the suspect would 'attack me again'. The officer said he also had the option of using his firearm which he would only produce if someone was 'so dangerous' but this could 'possibly be fatal'. PC Marsden said he did not want Mr Amaaz to 'come to such harm'. He recalled shouting at Mr Amaaz 'multiple times'. The PC told the KC that he also had the option of firing his Taser again, but that would have meant disconnecting the barbs he had already fired into Mr Amaad and then reloading the stun gun. "These are seconds I did not have unfortunately," he told the court, "this incident was fast and quick and not at a quarter speed. I had to act fast." The PC said he opted to kick Mr Amaaz to 'disorient' and to 'stun' him as all his other options were 'exhausted' including 'doing nothing'. "Are you telling the jury you thought of all those options within that second? When the safest option was to kick somebody in the head?" asked Mr Khan. "Yes," answered the officer. "It wasn't the safest option was it?" said the KC and the officer replied: "That's your opinion, not mine." The PC told the KC he agreed a kick to the head could cause brain damage. When he said it could also kill someone, the PC said: "I would argue so would a gunshot." "That's the safest option for you is it? Is that right?" asked the KC. "Yes," said the witness. "In the head?," said the KC and PC Marsden said 'yes'. Mr Khan told the officer he could have made a kick to the stomach, but PC Marsden said Mr Amaaz was lying face down. When it was suggested other parts of the body were available to kick, the officer said that was not an 'option'. Mr Khan suggested the officer was 'furious' at being attacked but the PC replied that these were 'your words, not mine'. "You grabbed him round the neck because the red mist had fallen from your eyes," said Mr Khan. "No," replied the officer. The KC said the kick had been 'pretty harsh' but the PC said 'no it wasn't'. He said it was just hard enough to 'achieve the desired effect' and 'stun' the Mr Amaaz. Mr Khan described it as 'gratuitous' and a 'loss of control'. "No it wasn't," the officer responded. Article continues below Mr Amaaz denies assaulting a member of the public, Abdulkareem Hamzah Abbas Ismaeil, by beating him on July 23, 2024, at Manchester Airport. He also denies a second charge that he assaulted PC Marsden causing actual bodily harm. The defendant also denies a third charge alleging he assaulted PC Lydia Ward causing actual bodily harm. He also denies a fourth charge against him alleging he assaulted, by beating, an emergency worker, PC Ellie Cook. Co-defendant Amaad, his brother, denies a single charge, namely that he also assaulted PC Marsden.
Powys County Times
05-07-2025
- Powys County Times
Powys: Man Tasered by police officer after crash on A483
A Newtown man has been spared prison for driving off after a collision which led him being Tasered by police. Floyd Bailey was driving along the A483 between Crossgates and Llandrindod Wells on May 17 when a blue Fiat Panda driven by Daniel Thomas Breeze stopped without warning. He had to swerve around the car to avoid a collision but was forced to clip the Fiat's wing mirror. Mr Bailey then went to stop to exchange details, but Breeze drove off. Welshpool Magistrates' Court was told that PC Reynolds saw the collision and followed the Fiat, at speed, along an unclassified road. Breeze had to climb out of the Fiat after it came off the road and got stuck in a ditch. PC Reynolds then tried to place the 35-year-old from Newtown in handcuffs after he ignored his request to remain at the scene, but Breeze resisted and was taken to the ground. He then tried to fight back and grabbed the officer's personal protection equipment. RECOMMENDED READING PC Reynolds drew his Taser, but Breeze walked towards the officer and pushed him away. The Taser was then used on Breeze as he tried to get back into the car. Prosecutor Helen Tench told the court that Breeze was seen "dropping a package" before being taken to the floor again and restrained by PC Reynolds until more officers arrived on the scene. Breeze told police that he tried to speak with the officer but he "came raging, charging towards me". He added that he was "quite scared" after being hit by a vehicle. Robert Hanratty, defending Breeze, said the defendant "didn't realise for a significant time" that the police officer was following him. "When he became aware that police were behind him, he pulled over to the righthand side, thinking that he wanted to pull over. "The defendant said the officer was a bit charged up with adrenaline. Daniel couldn't understand why he wanted to arrest him. "He picked up the handcuffs and threw them. "A Taser is a firearm and can only be deployed in certain circumstances. "Mr Bailey was at fault. The insurance letter admits liability and will fix the defendant's car. RECOMMENDED READING "But [Breeze] finds himself on the other side of prosecution. He's the victim. "It's very unusual for an officer to physically grapple somebody when investigating a roadside incident. Mr Breeze said it was over the top." Mr Hanratty added that the defendant's "problem" was that he is subject to a suspended sentence for a domestic incident. Probation officer Joseph Long told the magistrates that Breeze decided not to stop because he "wasn't too fussed" about the damage and didn't think that he needed to exchange details. "Mr Breeze panicked when he saw police and quickly pulled over in a gully," Mr Long said. "He tried to talk to the officer, but it escalated. "He doesn't remember being Tasered, but he remembers throwing handcuffs away." Breeze, of Trehafren, Newtown, admitted resisting a PC Reynolds in the execution of his duty, failing to stop after an accident and giving his name, address and vehicle details, and failing to surrender to court bail on June 3. Magistrates decided to disqualify Breeze from driving for six months and ordered him to complete 80 hours of unpaid work as part of a 12-month community order. Cynthia McVey, chair, told Breeze: "You need to understand that you could be sent to prison because you are on a suspended sentence order. "We have decided that it's unjust to activate it today. It is a dissimilar offence and probation are offering a community order which offers a reasonable hope of rehabilitation."
Miami Herald
26-06-2025
- Miami Herald
Man accused of fatal crash that killed jogger, in critical condition after hospital clash
A driver accused of running down a Shenandoah father out for a jog has been unconscious and hospitalized since police struck him with Tasers two weeks ago as he thrashed about trying to get out of bed and was sedated, the family's attorney said this week. In a letter last week to his mother last week, the hospital reported that Andres Roberto Fiallo Estupinan's condition had declined so rapidly that he was in 'critical' condition. He had been initially admitted for an foot injury after police say he fled from the scene of the horrific hit-and-run. Attorney Bradley Horenstein said police and hospital personnel wouldn't allow him to see his client for a week after he was admitted to Jackson Memorial Hospital. The lawyer said he was finally able to visit Estupinan after a judge ordered police to allow him behind the curtain of the hospital's Intensive Care Unit on June 16. Estupinian has not yet been formally charged but witnesses and police say he was behind the wheel of a Volkswagen Jetta that struck jogger Andrew Loretta, 50, so severely on the evening of June 10 that it severed his legs. Estupinan is accused of then careening his car into an ice cream truck and other vehicles. After the crash, he was hospitalized with a broken foot. Since then his condition has deteriorated rapidly. Jackson Health System sent Estupinan's mother in Chile a letter last week saying she should rush to her son's bedside. The letter provided to the Miami Herald and signed by the hospital's Trauma Intensive Care Unit, says Catalina Lourdes Estupinan Saltos should be considered for a humanitarian visa because her son is in 'critical' condition. Why Estupinan's condition turned so grave is a mystery. Miami Police have refused to discuss the case. They won't say if officers used Tasers to subdue the suspect. They won't even admit an officer has been sentry outside Estupinan's curtained room since he was admitted to Jackson on June 10. As for his client's condition, Horenstein said 'I don't know if it's because he was Tasered. I don't know if it's because he was sedated. But it's alarming for sure. He went in with a broken ankle and nothing else.' Horenstein said when he was finally permitted to see Estupinan, he was stunned. A thick hose was inserted down his throat and bandages across his face held it in place. The attorney said he was unable to communicate with his client and that when he visited again later in the week, nothing had changed. 'It's an image that sticks in my head,' the attorney said. The sudden death of Loretta, a married telecommunications executive with two teenage children, has dazed Coral Way neighbors and devastated his family. Friends and family said his passions were soccer and jogging, that he moved to Miami from California in 2000 and that he spoke English, Spanish and Portugese. Family members around the state called Loretta 'selfless' and said he was always there for anyone who needed help. 'I can't speak enough about what a great leader he was for his family. We're all really hurting,' said cousin John Loretta, who lives in Kendall. 'Everybody's heartbroken. It's still very fresh,' said another cousin, St. Petersburg resident Kristin Joy Loretta. A GoFundme page set up for Andrew Loretta had raised more than $188,000 as of Wednesday. In a post on the site his wife said she was 'heartbroken.' 'It all just makes me cry in a bittersweet way - to feel so much love while in so much pain - is the most overwhelming thing I've ever experienced,' she wrote. Residents tackled suspect in nearby park Estupinan, a 36-year-old Chilean, is in the U.S. on a work visa, his attorney said. Horenstein said his client recently graduated from Boston University with a Master's degree and was living in Coral Gables. Horenstein said he had a job - though couldn't identify what type of work it was - two weeks ago when police say he crashed into Loretta just before sunset near the corner of Southwest 21st Avenue and 18th Street. The crash so violent, police said, that Loretta was thrown more than 170 feet. Witnesses say Estupinan then veered his car into an ice cream truck and two other vehicles before getting out and running. He was tackled to the ground in nearby Shenandoah Park by residents who witnessed the incident and who detained him until police arrived. Estupinan's arrest report that day said he was speeding and that his driver's license had expired. It also said he was charged with two felonies, leaving the scene of a deadly crash and leaving the scene of a crash involving serious bodily injury. Despite the arrest affidavit, a Miami Police source this week said Estupinan will not be officially charged until they determine he's recovered sufficiently or is released from the hospital. Did mental lapse lead to scrap at hospital? Though police won't discuss the chain of events that led to Estupinan's condition, witness and written accounts indicate he may have been suffering an emotional breakdown before the fatal crash and the confrontation at the hospital that left him in his current state. In the weeks leading up to the crash that ended Loretta's life, Estupinan was receiving telemedical psychological help from a doctor in Chile, according to Horenstein and his medical records. The attorney said two days before the crash, a cousin tried to get the suspect in the hit-and-run some help at Coral Gables Hospital, which ultimately released him. 'The psychiatrist felt he needed to see a doctor,' said Horenstein, who added his client might have been depressed but that his family said he didn't appear distressed or suicidal. A five-page psychiatric evaluation of Estupinan from June 14 says the patient became so agitated at the hospital that he tore out his line, jumped out of the bed naked while handcuffed and swore before he was 'tased by PD [Miami police officers] multiple times which did not have any effect.' Estupinan was so disturbed, a doctor wrote, that he thrashed himself against a vent on a wall and set off a hospital alarm. 'Finally the patient was held down, given IM meds and subsequently intubated,' a psychiatrist wrote. Medical doctor Dominque Musselman said in at attempt to subdue Estupinan he was given ketamine, fentanyl and midazolam introvenously. The drugs are typically used for sedation and pain management. The doctor said it worked, but that Estupinan became angry and threw himself around repeatedly as doctor's tried to wean him from the sedation. The report also says that because of abnormal heart activity, high blood pressure and paranoia, Estupinan had been taking three powerful drugs generally used to for mental lapses. Valproate is used to stop seizures. Sebroquel manages hallucinations and risperidone is used to treat bipolar disorder and schizophrenia and general regulates mood swings and behavior. Horenstein said in the two weeks since he was hospitalized and charged, Estupinan hasn't spoken to anyone or been before a judge. The attorney said the hospital called his client's father Wednesday to inform him that they were about to perform a tracheotomy on his son. 'The system is broken and civil rights are illusory if this is how a defendant can be treated while in police custody in this country,' said Horenstein. 'It's terrifying that this can happen in America in 2025.'
The Irish Sun
13-06-2025
- The Irish Sun
Moment thug attacks cops with Molotov cocktail & knife in police station rampage – as he shrugs off 50,000-volt Taser
THIS is the moment a yob attacked cops with a Molotov cocktail, knife and a hatchet in a police station rampage over his "grudge" with authority. Alexander Dighton, who had been referred to the anti-terrorism programme Prevent in January 2024, attacked three police officers at Talbot Green police station in Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales. 7 Alexander Dighton carried out a rampage at a police station 7 He managed to resist being Tasered before attacking police 7 Dighton has now been jailed for life Credit: PA The 28-year-old knifed one of the cops in the leg and knocked another unconscious after storming the station. Footage released today shows Dighton first trying to hurl a firebomb at a police van but when it did not ignite, he started a blaze by pouring lighter fluid on the vehicle. The thug was then captured smashing the windows on two cars using a pole before terrified officers: "I'm fed up, I'm done". He managed to shake off the 50,000-volt Taser fired at him before continuing to smash the windows of the police station. Dighton has now been locked up for life with a minimum of 22 years after pleading guilty to ten charges related to the January 31 attack. The Old Bailey was told he had developed a "grudge" against authority and believed he was "damned from birth". Prosecutor Nicholas Hearn said his sister had reported him to Prevent due to concerns he held "racist and anti-Muslim views" and was likely to be involved with incel groups. During the attack on the police station, officers attempted to Taser him but it had no effect. Most read in The Sun He swung a pole at one officer and punched one in the head during the savage attack. Dighton then knifed Det Con Jack Cotton in the leg - narrowly missing his femoral artery - as three cops attempted to restrain him. When officers searched him, they found Dighton was wearing body armour and was carrying a hatchet in his bag. He later told police he did not consider the scope of damage, "merely that blood had to be spilt". The thug also admitted he was motivated by an anti-government ideology but denied intending to kill a police officer. Dighton said: "Authority is not my problem. It's the use of authority which to me is the problem, the use of authority I have seen since I was 15, that's my problem." He admitted the attempted murder of Detective Constable Jack Cotton, attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent to Sergeant Richard Coleman, assaulting Pc Joshua Emlyn and threatening Pc Stephanie Fleming with an adapted wooden pole. Dighton also pleaded guilty to the attempted arson of a police van, two counts of damaging police property and having an adapted wooden pole, a knife and a hatchet. Speaking after the case, Frank Ferguson of the Crown Prosecution Service said Dighton wanted to attack the Government and the state. Read more on the Irish Sun "We were able to show that Dighton's attack was not only pre-meditated and meticulously planned, but that his motivations were connected to terrorism. "While it is not a criminal offence to hold extreme or offensive views, it is one to carry out attempted murder and attack police officers because of them." 7 Dighton first attempted to firebomb a police car Credit: SWNS 7 He went to the station with a cache of weapons Credit: SWNS 7 Dighton was sprayed with Pave but remained undeterred 7 He was wearing bullet proof armour Credit: SWNS
Scottish Sun
13-06-2025
- Scottish Sun
Moment thug attacks cops with Molotov cocktail & knife in police station rampage – as he shrugs off 50,000-volt Taser
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THIS is the moment a yob attacked cops with a Molotov cocktail, knife and a hatchet in a police station rampage over his "grudge" with authority. Alexander Dighton, who had been referred to the anti-terrorism programme Prevent in January 2024, attacked three police officers at Talbot Green police station in Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 7 Alexander Dighton carried out a rampage at a police station 7 He managed to resist being Tasered before attacking police 7 Dighton has now been jailed for life Credit: PA The 28-year-old knifed one of the cops in the leg and knocked another unconscious after storming the station. Footage released today shows Dighton first trying to hurl a firebomb at a police van but when it did not ignite, he started a blaze by pouring lighter fluid on the vehicle. The thug was then captured smashing the windows on two cars using a pole before terrified officers: "I'm fed up, I'm done". He managed to shake off the 50,000-volt Taser fired at him before continuing to smash the windows of the police station. Dighton has now been locked up for life with a minimum of 22 years after pleading guilty to ten charges related to the January 31 attack. The Old Bailey was told he had developed a "grudge" against authority and believed he was "damned from birth". Prosecutor Nicholas Hearn said his sister had reported him to Prevent due to concerns he held "racist and anti-Muslim views" and was likely to be involved with incel groups. During the attack on the police station, officers attempted to Taser him but it had no effect. He swung a pole at one officer and punched one in the head during the savage attack. Dighton then knifed Det Con Jack Cotton in the leg - narrowly missing his femoral artery - as three cops attempted to restrain him. When officers searched him, they found Dighton was wearing body armour and was carrying a hatchet in his bag. He later told police he did not consider the scope of damage, "merely that blood had to be spilt". The thug also admitted he was motivated by an anti-government ideology but denied intending to kill a police officer. Dighton said: "Authority is not my problem. It's the use of authority which to me is the problem, the use of authority I have seen since I was 15, that's my problem." He admitted the attempted murder of Detective Constable Jack Cotton, attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent to Sergeant Richard Coleman, assaulting Pc Joshua Emlyn and threatening Pc Stephanie Fleming with an adapted wooden pole. Dighton also pleaded guilty to the attempted arson of a police van, two counts of damaging police property and having an adapted wooden pole, a knife and a hatchet. Speaking after the case, Frank Ferguson of the Crown Prosecution Service said Dighton wanted to attack the Government and the state. "We were able to show that Dighton's attack was not only pre-meditated and meticulously planned, but that his motivations were connected to terrorism. "While it is not a criminal offence to hold extreme or offensive views, it is one to carry out attempted murder and attack police officers because of them." 7 Dighton first attempted to firebomb a police car Credit: SWNS 7 He went to the station with a cache of weapons Credit: SWNS 7 Dighton was sprayed with Pave but remained undeterred
