Dangerous driver hit police car but when cop tried to Taser him it failed

A dangerous driver hit a police car and an officer tried to Taser him. But the weapon didn't work and he drove off.

Matthew Steele, 32, was later caught in Rhyl, Mold Crown Court heard. He admitted dangerous driving but a judge said he could be rehabilitated and gave him a ten-month jail term, suspended for 15 months.

Prosecutor Alexa Carrier said an armed response police officer went to investigate a black Vauxhall Vectra car parked outside a One Stop Shop in Rhyl at 2pm on September 4, 2022. The driver started the engine and the wheels began spinning.

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The officer tried to reach in through the driver's window but the driver - Steele - reversed, hitting the police car and a bollard. The officer tried to Taser the driver but the Taser gun "malfunctioned" and didn't go off, said Ms Carrier.

Steele drove across the car park, avoided pedestrians and headed towards Prestatyn. At 2.45pm that day another police officer on patrol saw the Vectra in a yard. It drove towards the officer. You can sign up for all the latest court stories here

Fearing a collision the officer reversed their car partly up a bank to get out of the way. The defendant manoeuvred around it and drove off again, the court heard.

Finally at 6.45pm that day another officer saw the Vectra at the back of Sainsbury's. They spotted Steele in woodland and he was arrested.

The defendant, of Shepherds Bush Road, London, admitted driving a vehicle dangerously. He said he hadn't realised it was a police car outside the One Stop Shop. He had panicked and driven away.

Jade Tufail, defending, said her client had been assessed by an expert. He did not have psychosis but was suffering from depression.

The offending happened during a "turbulent" and "chaotic" time in his life but he is much more stable now, she said. He had been living on the streets in London last year but was "lucky enough to have been found" by the St Mungo's charity, which helps homeless people and rough sleepers.

He has been moved to a YMCA hostel where people learn new skills and wants to take up his deferred place on a social sciences course, said Ms Tufail.

The judge His Honour Timothy Petts told Steele his driving in trying to get away from the officer outside the One Stop Shop had been highly dangerous.

But he said the best thing to do was keep him in the community to continue his rehabilitation rather than send him straight to prison and "undo the good work" done with him so far.

He imposed the suspended sentence for dangerous driving and said there would be no separate penalty for driving with no insurance. He disqualified Steele from driving for 18 months and he must pass an extended retest.

He also ordered the defendant to attend 30 days of rehabilitation activity and live at an approved address.

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