Albanian accused of chasing police with chainsaw not offered interpreter – court

An Albanian man accused of wielding a chainsaw at police officers whom he allegedly chased down a busy street was not offered an interpreter or a solicitor before he was charged by detectives, a court heard.

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

It is alleged he stole a black Volkswagen car and drove it “at excessive speed”, before mounting the pavement and colliding with a police car containing two officers at about 1.30pm.

Kastrati is alleged to have pulled a chainsaw out of a bag, started it, and run at officers while shouting and swearing.

He has denied attempting to murder four police officers.

Kastrati had also been charged with breach of the peace and motoring offences, which he denied, and was acquitted of these at the close of the Crown case on Monday when the prosecution withdrew those four charges.

Judge Gallacher said: “I acquit you of those charges.”

Earlier on Monday, the High Court in Paisley heard that Kastrati spoke “broken English” but was not offered an interpreter, and referred to the collision on four occasions as being a “car accident”, when he was charged with attempted murder later the same day.

Giving evidence, Detective Constable Stephen Solomon confirmed that Kastrati was not offered a consultation with a solicitor before being charged, and was not offered an Albanian interpreter.

Dc Solomon said that he attended the scene on May 6, along with around “15 or 20” other officers, the court heard.

Defending, John Scullion KC said that detectives had 12 hours to hold Kastrati without charge but did not provide him with an interpreter.

A video of the police interview was shown to the court, showing Dc Solomon saying: “I’m going to charge you but before I do so I’m going to question you. You don’t need to reply to the charge.”

The detective then asked Kastrati “do you understand the charge?” and “do you wish to make a reply”, with no interpreter present.

Video footage showed Kastrati’s responses, which included saying he had had a car accident, and that the police followed him.

The court heard that in response to the first attempted murder charge, Kastrati made reference to a “car accident” four times.

He also said under questioning that he had “lost control of the vehicle”, the court heard.

Defending, Mr Scullion said: “He would have been entitled to consultation with a solicitor, it was obvious he hadn’t had one. Did you check he had before charging him?”

Dc Solomon said: “No, I didn’t check.”

Mr Scullion said: “You were aware he is Albanian and it’s clear in the video he spoke broken English.”

The detective said: “He wasn’t fluent but could have a conversation. I wouldn’t say it was totally broken.”

Mr Scullion said that many of the charges involved “technical language” but Kastrati did not have an interpreter and was not offered one.

Dc Solomon said: “I felt he could understand what was said.”

Mr Scullion said that at the time Kastrati was charged, there was an additional five hours before police could no longer hold him without charge.

Mr Scullion said: “He told you repeatedly it was an accident and he lost control of vehicle.

“He told you he had gone away and a policeman followed him, he explained he was trying to make the policeman go away.”

Mr Scullion added: “In relation to the chainsaw he said, ‘it’s very dangerous’, he said, ‘you get me I had in the car accident, I thought go away’.

“He was trying to get the officer to go away.

“But, throughout the procedure, it didn’t occur to you to get somebody in as an interpreter.”

Dc Solomon said: “No.”

The court heard that two of the police officers, Pc Gary Cowan and Pc Kelly Ferris, were taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow and diagnosed as having whiplash injuries.

A vehicle examination by road traffic police officers on May 9 2024 found there were “no pre-collision defects” with the VW Passat which collided with a marked Peugeot 308, the court heard.

During the afternoon evidence, Pc Ian Nish, a collision expert, said that “there was obviously speed involved… I couldn’t say how much speed was involved.”

Under cross-examination, Pc Nish said he did not provide an investigation report as they were predominantly used in fatal crashes.

Mr Scullion said: “Do you remember having a conversation with a senior prosecutor in this case and saying you couldn’t say if it was deliberate?”

Pc Nish said: “I’m sorry, I can’t remember.”

It was put to him that the back tyres had a difference of 18 PSI between them, and Pc Nish said this was “significant”.

He told the court that no CCTV had been provided to him, and that he did not attempt to assess speed based on the tyre marks as the vehicle had collided with something else.

The trial continues.