Man guilty of trying to murder cop with a chainsaw

A man has been convicted of chasing a police officer with a chainsaw and attempting to murder him.

- SARAH WARD, PA

Incident Police closed off Glasgow Road in Paisley

Liridon Kastrati, 32, had been accused of ramming a car into a marked police vehicle and then brandishing a chainsaw at officers in Paisley, in broad daylight on May 6, 2024 at about 1.30pm.

He had denied a single charge of attempting to murder four police officers but, on Tuesday, was convicted of an amended charge of attempted murder in relation to one person, Pc Gary Cowan, following a trial at the High Court in Paisley.

The amended charge also removed reference to the car crash.

On Monday, Kastrati was acquitted of charges of breach of the peace, stealing a car and motoring offences when the prosecution withdrew those four charges. He had denied those charges.

Kastrati will be sentenced on December 19 at the High Court in Paisley and Judge Gallacher told him to expect a “significant penalty”.