Police officer recounts fear as man allegedly chased him with chainsaw in Paisley

A Police Scotland officer told a courtroom he genuinely believed he might be killed when a man allegedly chased him down a Paisley street with a running chainsaw. The dramatic testimony came during the trial of thirty-two-year-old Liridon Kastrati, who is accused of ramming a stolen car into a marked police vehicle before pulling out the chainsaw and sprinting after officers on 6 May 2024.

Prosecutors say Kastrati stole a black Volkswagen in the George Street area and then drove through Paisley at high speed, mounting a pavement and crashing head on into a police car carrying two officers. When the car struck with what one officer described as an “almighty bang”, several airbags deployed and the police vehicle spun until it faced a nearby house.

Officer Gary Cowan, thirty five, told Paisley Sheriff Court that once he regained his bearings he saw the damaged black car on the pavement ahead of him. A man stepped out, glanced at the police car and initially tried to run away. Cowan said he moved toward him to make an arrest, but when he was just a few metres away, the man turned back to the vehicle and pulled out a chainsaw.

According to Cowan, the man removed the blade guard, lowered the saw to start the engine and then shouted a profanity aimed at the police. The officer said that as soon as he heard the chainsaw roar to life he turned and sprinted toward Glasgow Road, convinced he was in immediate danger.

“He was chasing after me with the chainsaw, holding it up while he ran,” Cowan said, adding that he could hear the engine revving behind him. “I thought that if I didn’t create distance, he was going to kill me. He could have cut my arms off or taken my head off. I was terrified.”

The officer estimated the chase lasted around one hundred metres. He said he radioed for urgent support while repeatedly checking over his shoulder to see how close the man was. Eventually the chase stopped when the man set the chainsaw down. Cowan said he then used pepper spray and, when that appeared ineffective, struck the man on the legs with his baton until backup officers arrived and made the arrest.

The court also heard from witness Kevin McDonald, who was gardening nearby. He said he heard shouting and what sounded like a small engine before seeing a police officer being pursued by a man carrying a chainsaw. McDonald described the man as having a foreign accent and recalled hearing him say something like “I don’t want to be here.” He then watched as several officers moved in from the opposite direction and detained him.

Kastrati denies attempted murder as well as breach of the peace and multiple driving offences. The trial continues.