Dunedin officer feared for life after the ramming, axe chase

The incident unfolded doing September last year. Photo / Gregor Richardson

This police officer who was rammed by a autos posing as a Muslim extremist simple who then chased the official with a tomahawk – says the dog believed the man intended to kill them.

Ruairi Kern Taylor swift (25) pleaded guilty to working to cause grievous bodily harm, intentional damage and assault with a weapon, and was jailed for three a long time three months before the High Court of Dunedin this morning.

A complete charge of attempted murder value was previously dropped by the Crown.

The victim, Constable Steven Treloar, spoke publicly about the occurences for the first time today.

Your officer, who had six years’ , the burkha at the time, said it was something although not want anyone to go through.

Const Treloar said he had trouble to come to terms with the fact a member of the community he served maintained turned on him for no noticeable reason.

He simultaneously questioned his decision to run away from the scene when Taylor chased your guy with the axe, rather than remain along with protect the public.

“I believe he intended to kill my home, ” Const Treloar said.

Justice Rachel Dunningham wanted to say the facts of the case were “somewhat unusual”.

Taylor quit your job at a Tapanui business of September 4 last year then visited a shop in Gore where he got such a tomahawk.

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My husband retrieved a sheathed knife through his home and strapped the problem to his leg before probably north in his Subaru.

First he pursued an unmarked police car but continued forcing when it turned into the Gore police station.

Later, Swift chanced upon Const Treloar who was being placed in his patrol vehicle, with lgts activated, having pulled over a driver in Allanton, near Dunedin.

The defendant blasted ”religious music”on his stereo and reprehended his car into the back of the counter-top police car.

Const Treloar’s head smashed into work windscreen and the force shunted well recognized vehicle into the one he had averted.

While Taylor made the officer’s windows with the responsable, the victim used the police stereo unit to call for backup.

He shuffled over the car’s in the center of console and escaped through the commuter door as the defendant gave go in pursuit of with the tomahawk raised above his own head.

Taylor shouted ”Allahu Akbar” (meaning”God is great”) while running but gave up often the pursuit after 40m.

He returned to the now empty police car, smashing both lights and hacking holes in its persona panels with the weapon, causing better $30, 000 worth of damage, all court heard.

Some other units which rushed to the mood found Taylor wearing a police baseball cap and jacket from Const Treloar’s car while ”yelling religious content from a Koran he had in his possession”.

He later said police he was not a practising Muslim and had wanted to be shot with police.

The determine said Taylor’s playing on hurtful stereotypes about Islamic extremism have been an aggravating factor.

“You have indirectly harmed the neighborhood of law-abiding Muslims, ” your girl said.

The exasperating was clearly premeditated, she claims, as the defendant had armed realizes and “used religious props” to intensify concern.

Defence counsel Sarah Saunderson-Warner said Taylor wasn’t motivated by some sort of grudge opposing the officer involved or even the police usually.

It came from that desire to self-harm, she said, but was sparked by “a couple of stresses building up in him which in turn he was effectively ill-equipped to cope with”.

A psychiatrist found no specific diagnosis of mental-health issue but recommended follow-up.

Taylor was ordered to spend $2000 for the “extensive and strategic damage” he caused, to be renumerated at $20 a week once having been released from prison.