He was described as being ‘enraged’ throughout the incident
An “enraged” and aggressive troublemaker threatened to stab police officers with a knife during a terrifying confrontation that saw him climb out of a window onto a roof before continuing to make chilling threats. Serial offender Callum Simpson angrily made menacing gestures with the knife and, even when he was squirted with Pava spray, it seemed to have little effect on him, Hull Crown Court heard.
Simpson, 30, of Arundel Close, east Hull, but recently in custody on remand, admitted offences of affray, possessing a knife and assaulting a police officer with intent to resist arrest on July 21. Jane Rapin, prosecuting, said that police were alerted after reports of a woman in the street injured.
They made inquiries and later found Simpson at a house. He pulled out a flick knife and threatened them. Police pulled back and requested back-up.
Simpson climbed out of a rear window and onto a flat roof, where he stayed for 30 minutes and made threats. “He armed himself with a small chunk of brick,” said Miss Rapin.
He pulled a lock knife from his waistband and threatened to stab police. He warned them: “I’ll f***ing stab you. If you touch me, you are going to get it.”
Pava spray was used in a bid to calm him down. “It was simply him on the roof threatening officers,” said Miss Rapin. “He eventually did come down.”
Oliver Shipley, mitigating, said that police arrived to arrest Simpson for something that was later dropped. “He reacted badly to the plainclothes police,” said Mr Shipley.
“He didn’t know they were plainclothes police. That explains his initial reaction. After that, it was clear that it was police. The defendant has to accept that the officers would have been fearing for their safety.
“He has eventually cooperated with the police and come down from the roof through negotiation. It’s regrettable that he has found himself offending again.”
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Simpson had a “terrible record” of previous offences and he had served previous prison sentences. He had suffered a turbulent life, with drug addictions throughout. At the time of these offences, he was not on medication.
Judge John Thackray KC told Simpson: “What the court can’t ignore is the extreme reaction by you to police officers who were just doing their job. You advanced towards them shouting: ‘Come near me and I will f***ing stab you’.
“The officers must have been terrified. They understandably deployed their Pava spray to incapacitate you but it had little effect. They did manage to get themselves to safety.
“You made your way onto the roof and you were up there for about 30 minutes. You were saying: ‘Any of you try to grab me and you can have it’. You were gesturing with the knife.
“There was a threat to cause serious injury to officers. You spent quite some time up there before you eventually saw sense. You were described as being enraged throughout this incident.”
Simpson was jailed for 21 months. “Your risk cannot be managed in the community and you cannot be rehabilitated,” said Judge Thackray. “Ultimately, only appropriate punishment can be achieved by way of an immediate custodial sentence.”