Emergency

Man High On Drugs And Dressed Only In Boxers Rams Coventry Police Car Six Times With Van

This is the moment a van driver who is high on drugs and dressed only in his boxer shorts rams a police car in Coventry six times.

The incident has seen the young man found guilty of two counts of attempting to inflict grievous bodily harm on police officers.

West Midlands Police named the defendant as Paul Neelan, 29, adding that the incident took place on Hancock Green in the city of Coventry.

Wrecked police car after being repeatedly rammed by the suspect Paul Neelan (29) in Coventry in West Midlands in England on the 1st of January 2021. (@westmidlandspolice/Newsflash)

It left the police vehicle, a Vauxhall Insignia, with a repair bill “topping GBP 15,000”, meaning that the car “was written off”.

The incident, which took place on 1st January 2021, has resulted in the defendant been found guilty by a jury at the Leamington Crown Court in Leamington Spa on Thursday, 27th January.

The police said that he is due to be sentenced on Friday, 4th March.

Wrecked police car after being repeatedly rammed by the suspect Paul Neelan (29) in Coventry in West Midlands in England on the 1st of January 2021. (@westmidlandspolice/Newsflash)

The footage, apparently filmed from the body cam of the police officer driving the police vehicle, shows the car being rammed by a white transit van.

The police respond by chasing the vehicle, which crashes off the side of the road in a suburban neighbourhood into what appears to be a low wall surrounding a residential property.

An officer can be heard shouting that he has a taser, ordering the suspect to “stay on the floor”.

Paul Neelan (29) was charged with two counts of attempting to inflict grievous bodily harm on two police officers in Coventry in West Midlands in England on the 1st of January 2021. (West Midlands Police/Newsflash)

The suspect, who appears to be wearing nothing but underwear despite the obviously cold weather, can then be seen being handcuffed by the police and arrested.

The West Midlands Police said: “Two officers were helped from the car having suffered neck and back injuries but thankfully neither were seriously injured.”

The police explained that the officers had been heading to the area after reports of a person deliberately driving a van at pedestrians when Neelan hit them with the large, white vehicle.

The suspect Paul Neelan (29) rammed the Coventry police vehicle in Coventry in West Midlands in England on the 1st of January 2021. (@westmidlandspolice/Newsflash)

The police said: “They were heading to Hummingbird Avenue, Coventry, at 1.45am on 1st January 2021 when they spotted a white transit van being driven recklessly and mounting a pavement.

“There had earlier been reports of a serious disorder and a vehicle deliberately driving at people.

“We pursued Neelan into Hancock Green but he suddenly put the van into reverse and careered backwards into the officers.”

The suspect Paul Neelan (29) rammed the Coventry police vehicle in Coventry in West Midlands in England on the 1st of January 2021. (@westmidlandspolice/Newsflash)

The police said that the impacts were so strong that they triggered the police cars airbags and ripped off one of its doors.

The police said: “Shockingly, they were rammed six times, the impact triggering the car’s airbags and tearing off a door, before Neelan hit another police car.”

The police said that the man behind the wheel of the van was high on drugs and that he tried to flee the police but crashed after failing to handle a roundabout.

The suspect Paul Neelan (29) rammed the Coventry police vehicle a couple of times and tried to flee on foot before he was arrested in a garden in nothing but a pair of boxers short in Coventry in West Midlands in England on the 1st of January 2021. (@westmidlandspolice/Newsflash)

The police said: “The 29-year-old, who was high on drugs, drove off but crashed moments later as he failed to negotiate a roundabout.”

The cops said that they found the defendant wearing nothing but underwear.

They said: “Neelan, from Cedars Avenue in Coventry, was chased down and found hiding in a garden nearby wearing only a pair of boxer shorts.”

Investigating officer Detective Constable Bally Kaur said: “This was a shocking attack on two officers who were heading to the scene of a disorder to protect members of the public.

The suspect Paul Neelan (29) rammed the Coventry police vehicle a couple of times and tried to flee on foot before he was arrested in a garden in nothing but a pair of boxers short in Coventry in West Midlands in England on the 1st of January 2021. (@westmidlandspolice/Newsflash)

“One of the officers had to be carried off on a spinal board but thankfully they turned out not to be seriously injured.

“Neelan could easily have injured more people and caused a serious crash as he sped away high on drugs.

“Anyone who assaults emergency service workers must expect to pay a high price and spend time behind bars.”

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