Police praised for firing stun gun at knife-wielding Leys drug addict (From Oxford Mail)

Police praised for firing stun gun at knife-wielding Leys drug addict

6:55pm Monday 23rd March 2009 in

By Ellie Simmonds »

Skip social links
Print
Email
Comments(17)

POLICE officers who fired a high-voltage stun gun at a knife-wielding drug addict were today praised by a judge.

Firearms officers shot James Layden with a 50,000 volt Taser gun after he threatened to kill another man with a large kitchen knife.

Pc Scott Marshall and Pc Terence Doherty were called to a house in Cherry Close, Greater Leys, after receiving a 999 call on November 12 last year about a weapon being used at the address.

When they went inside the house, they found Layden standing over another man, who was cowering on the sofa.

Layden was shouting death threats and wielding a knife.

They twice warned Layden, 24, they were armed and ordered him to stand still before firing the gun.

But the gun’s needle-tipped barbs, capable of delivering an electric shock to temporarily stun the victim, caught Layden’s jacket instead of his skin and had little effect.

Instead the officers subdued Layden with an incapacitating spray and he dropped the knife.

Layden, of Windale Avenue, Blackbird Leys, was handed a suspended sentence at Oxford Crown Court after admitting affray and possessing crack cocaine and heroin.

Jonathan Stone, prosecuting, said police were called to the scene at about midnight. He said: “They went into the living room and saw a male, the victim in this case, lying on the sofa in the foetal position. Standing above him was the defendant and the officers saw him holding a large knife in his hand.”

Mr Stone said police found Layden had 498mg of heroin and 1.88g of crack cocaine.

Peter Du Feu, defending, said: “He was behaving in a manner which was entirely unacceptable. It was illogical and irrational.

“There is a background of binge-drinking and consumption of drugs leading to irrational behaviour on his part.”

Mr Recorder John Hardy handed Layden a 12-month jail sentence, suspended for two years, an 18-month supervision order and 80 hours of unpaid work.

He said: “The police officers who entered the scene, at which you were found threatening a man with a large kitchen knife, acted in my view very bravely, given what they heard going on.

“They were confronted with a scene which prompted them, in my view entirely rightly, to react by using on you as best they could such incapacitating equipment as they had on them.”

He said the two officers should receive a Chief Superintendent’s commendation for their bravery.

Earlier this month Oxford East MP Andrew Smith criticised Thames Valley Police after the Oxford Mail revealed officers did not tell the public about the incident until it came to light after a Freedom of Information request.

Oxford police commander Supt Andy Murray said it was unfortunate the gun’s use had not been made public.

It was the third time a suspect had been shot with a Taser gun in Oxford.

esimmonds@oxfordmail.co.uk

Comments(17)

Botanic Garden says...
7:58pm Mon 23 Mar 09

Suspended sentence is a joke. Layden should have been sent down for at least 3 years. I would also like to hear Andrew Smith now praising the officers concerned and not criticising!