Jamshid Piruz jailed for 'horror film' hammer attack on police
Police bodycam footage shows Jashmid Piruz lunging at two officers with a claw hammer after he is cornered.
Saturday 14 January 2017 08:20, UK
A man convicted of murder in the Netherlands has been jailed for life in the UK for a hammer attack on two police officers that was likened to a horror film.
Afghan-born Jamshid Piruz lashed out when he was cornered by police after carrying out a series of burglaries.
Police bodycam footage showed Piruz being cornered by PCs Jessica Chick and Stuart Young in a tool shed before he lashed out with a claw hammer.
The court heard police had Tasered him three times, but it was ineffective because he was wearing thick clothes.
PC Chick was trapped screaming behind a pillar by Piruz, who swung the hammer at her.
She said: "I have never been so scared in my life. I have never been in a situation where I thought 'this is it, I am going to die or I am going to be brain dead'."
PC Young, who was hit in the neck, said it was "akin to a horror film."
Piruz pleaded guilty at Hove Crown Court to burglary, as well as two counts of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent and affray.
The 35-year-old had previously served six years of a 12-year term imposed in 2007 for slitting a woman's throat in Almere in the Netherlands.
He came to Britain in December 2015 to see relatives, but missed his flight home.
When he was told he would have to pay for another ticket, he spat at an easyJet employee.
After a court ordered him to pay compensation, he burgled garages in Crawley in Sussex, where he stole tools including a hammer.
Police were called when a member of the public saw Piruz attempting a further break-in, which led to him attacking PCs Chick and Young.
Judge Jeremy Gold QC sentenced Piruz to a minimum of six years in jail, telling him: "This was an incident of truly terrifying violence, the officers were in fear of their lives and you had no reason to attack them whatsoever."
Piruz, he said, suffered "acute psychotic episodes".
"You are potentially a very dangerous man and you are prone to outbursts of potentially fatal violence when you are stressed, with little or no ability to control those outbursts," the judge said.
Simon Blackford, defending, said his client, who sobbed in the dock, was remorseful and added: "He suffers from post traumatic stress disorder after he witnessed the murder of his parents by the Taliban when he was 11 years old and subsequent experiences living in Kabul during the war."