Cop thought attacker would ‘saw his arms and chop his head off’ after minor traffic incident turned into nightmare involving a chainsaw

Liridon Kastrati, the man who chased a police officer through a street while holding a running chainsaw, has been found guilty of attempted murder after a trial at the High Court in Paisley. This is absolutely terrifying news. A jury found the Albanian national guilty of trying to murder PC Gary Cowan after what started as a simple traffic incident turned into a nightmare situation last year.

According to The Sun, PC Cowan, who is 35 years old, gave heartbreaking evidence during the trial. He told the court that he was “terrified” and truly feared for his life during the chase. He thought the attacker would “saw my arms off, chop my head off.” When you hear that level of violence described, it really shows how quickly a normal day can turn into something awful for officers doing their jobs.

The chaos started on Glasgow Road in Paisley, Renfrewshire. Kastrati’s vehicle crashed into PC Cowan’s marked police car at a junction. After the crash, PC Cowan’s colleague, PC Kelly Ferris, said she was “completely dazed and quite scared” because the car immediately started filling with smoke from the airbags.

A routine traffic stop became a deadly chase

PC Cowan said that Kastrati, who is 32 years old, first got out of the driver’s side door and started to run away. The officer went toward him, planning to arrest him. However, when PC Cowan was about 10 meters away, Kastrati suddenly went back to his vehicle. That’s when he grabbed the chainsaw and started it up.

The terrifying footage shows the officer having to run for his life in broad daylight. Kastrati ran after him, holding the running chainsaw high and shouting “f*** the police.” PC Cowan explained his thoughts during the chase, saying, “I thought if I don’t create distance, he is going to kill me.”

PC Ferris, 47, quickly got out of the smoky car and began looking for her colleague. She heard the chainsaw “just to my right hand side” and saw the man chasing PC Cowan down Glasgow Road. She immediately started running after them, shouting for Kastrati to put the weapon down. Like many who have faced unexpected dangerous situations that changed their lives, she had to make split-second decisions.

PC Ferris chased Kastrati, who threatened her with a chainsaw, shouting for media coverage. Fearing for her life, she kept her distance. Witnesses tried to help, but PC Cowan bravely refused rescue. Kastrati eventually dropped the chainsaw and was arrested. His brother revealed Kastrati lacked a UK licence and had immigration issues.

Although Kastrati had first denied trying to murder four police officers, the jury found him guilty today on a changed charge of attempted murder relating specifically to PC Gary Cowan. The changed charge also removed any specific mention of the car crash itself.

Kastrati was found not guilty earlier this week of other charges, including breach of the peace, stealing a car, and driving offenses. This case joins other shocking incidents where unexpected footage revealed truly terrifying encounters.

John Scullion KC, defending Kastrati, admitted during the trial that his client did take the chainsaw, swore, injured PC Cowan, and pointed the weapon at other officers during this frightening incident. Kastrati will be sentenced on December 19 at the High Court in Paisley.