A man who chased a police officer with a chainsaw in an attempt to murder him has been jailed for 10 years.
Liridon Kastrati, 32, was found guilty in November of the attempted murder of PC Gary Cowan following a trial at the High Court in Paisley.
The daylight attack occurred on 6 May 2024 in Paisley, Renfrewshire, after a Volkswagen car being driven by Kastrati, an Albanian national, crashed into a police vehicle.
PC Cowan told the court he initially approached Kastrati with the intention of arresting him, but then found himself running for his life after the attacker returned to the car, grabbed a chainsaw, started it up and began to sprint after him while shouting “f*** the police”.
The officer said: “He was chasing after me with the chainsaw, holding the chainsaw up, running after me.”
He added: “I thought if I don’t create distance, he is going to kill me.”
The officer said he believed Kastrati would “saw my arms off, chop my head off,” and that he was “terrified”.
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Charges of breach of the peace, stealing a car and motoring offences were dropped by the prosecution during the trial.
Kastrati was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow on Tuesday.
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