A Police Scotland officer has told a court he was “terrified” when he allegedly found himself being chased by a man wielding a chainsaw.
Liridon Kastrati, 32, is accused of ramming a car into a marked police vehicle and then brandishing a chainsaw at officers in Paisley, Renfrewshire, on 6 May 2024.
It is alleged he stole a black Volkswagen car from the town’s George Street and drove it “at excessive speed”, before mounting the pavement and colliding with a police car containing two officers.
Kastrati is then accused of pulling a chainsaw out of a bag before reportedly running at officers while shouting and swearing.
Kastrati is on trial and denies attempted murder, as well as breach of the peace and motoring offences.
Paisley Sheriff Court heard evidence from Police Constable Gary Cowan, 35, on Wednesday, who had been behind the wheel of the police car when it was allegedly rammed.
The PC said he had been at the junction of Buchlyvie Road and Glasgow Road when something struck the motor from the right-hand side with an “almighty bang”.
He said some of the vehicle’s airbags inflated, and that it was pushed round to the left so it ended up facing a house on the corner of the junction.
The officer said when he “came to” he could see a black car up on the pavement in front of him that looked damaged from the collision.
PC Cowan said a man then got out of the driver’s side door of the black car, looked at the police car and then “began to run away”.
The officer told the court he began approaching the man with the intention of arresting him, but when he was about 10m away, the man returned to his vehicle and retrieved a chainsaw.
He said after removing the guard covering the blade, the man started the chainsaw by lowering it down to one side and pulling on its cord.
Asked what he could hear at that point, the officer claimed: “As soon as I heard that engine start, I heard he appeared to shout ‘f*** the police’.
“At that point, I started to create distance between myself and him, and started to run towards Glasgow Road.”
The officer claimed the man began “sprinting” after him, and that he was continuing to shout and swear.
The PC said: “He was chasing after me with the chainsaw, holding the chainsaw up, running after me. I could hear the chainsaw revving.
“I thought ‘if I don’t create distance, he is going to kill me’.”
Asked what he thought the man could do with the chainsaw, the officer replied: “Saw my arms off, chop my head off,” adding that he was “terrified”.
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PC Cowan said the chase lasted about 100m, and that he was constantly checking over his shoulder to see how close his pursuer was.
The officer said as he was running, he radioed the control room for support, allegedly stating: “I need firearms support just now. I’m being chased by a man with a chainsaw.”
Eventually he said the man stopped running and put the chainsaw on the ground, at which point the PC said he was able to use pepper spray on him.
The officer said: “I was asking him to get on the ground and he wasn’t listening. I removed my baton and struck him with the baton on his legs.”
Other officers arrived and an arrest was made.
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The court also heard evidence from Kevin McDonald, who had been doing gardening work nearby.
He testified he heard shouting and what sounded like a “small motorbike”.
Mr McDonald said the person shouting had a “foreign accent”, and that they seemed to be saying, “I don’t want to be here”, or words to that effect.
He told the court he moved to the front of the building, where he could see a male police officer running along the road, with a man chasing after him with a chainsaw.
Mr McDonald said he saw the man put the chainsaw on the ground, before being arrested by “five or six” police officers who approached from the other side of the road.
Asked to identify the man who had been holding the chainsaw, he pointed to Kastrati in the dock.
The court was shown photos of the chainsaw, which had a pale blue and dark blue handle and a long blade.
The trial continues.
