A terrifying scene unfolded in Paisley when a man wielding a chainsaw chased police through the streets. The incident, described by one officer as a fight for his life, culminated in a ten-year sentence for the perpetrator.
Police Constable Cowan initially approached the man, later identified as 32-year-old Kastrati from Albania, with the intention of making an arrest. That quickly escalated into a desperate pursuit, the officer forced to flee for his safety as Kastrati advanced with the roaring chainsaw held high.
“I thought if I don’t create distance, he is going to kill me,” PC Cowan recounted to the court, vividly illustrating the sheer terror of the moment. The image of a police officer running from a man with a chainsaw is something rarely witnessed, and the reality was profoundly frightening.
Judge Gallacher, delivering the sentence, acknowledged the extraordinary nature of the crime. He stated he had “never encountered the use of a chainsaw as a weapon being wielded,” adding that the scene felt like something ripped from a horror film.
CCTV and mobile phone footage revealed Kastrati in relentless pursuit, seemingly oblivious to the danger he posed to anyone in his path. The judge emphasized that had the officer stumbled, the outcome could have been catastrophic, a scene of unimaginable carnage.
The chase eventually ended when Kastrati stopped running and dropped the chainsaw, at which point he was subdued with pepper spray. While other charges, including vehicle theft, were dropped, the gravity of wielding a chainsaw against a police officer remained paramount.
Kastrati’s defense argued that he had the chainsaw in his car for a gardening job, and that his actions stemmed from stress and fear related to his immigration status. His lawyer stated he accepted his behavior was “frightening and distressing” and expressed remorse.
The defense further explained that Kastrati conflates authority figures with those involved in his immigration concerns, leading to poor decisions fueled by anxiety. Despite these explanations, Judge Gallacher imposed the ten-year sentence, backdated to May 2024, recognizing the severity of the threat posed.
The incident serves as a stark reminder of the unpredictable dangers faced by law enforcement and the potential for even ordinary tools to become instruments of terror in the wrong hands.
