Man threw chair at police officer before crashing his dad’s Jaguar and attempting to escape on a bus

A man from north Leeds threw a threw a chair at a police officer before stealing his dad’s car and crashing it into a Land Rover.
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A sentencing hearing at Leeds Crown Court was told Aiden Gidman, of Miles Hill Road, was out on licence from a previous offence when he attacked police, repeatedly punching another officer several times in the head.

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On a separate date, Gidman crashed his dad’s car before attempting to escape on a bus, assaulting officers arresting him and giving a false name.

The hearing took place at Leeds Crown Court.The hearing took place at Leeds Crown Court.
The hearing took place at Leeds Crown Court.
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The court was told police were called out to a house in Leeds on May 19 this year, where windows had been smashed. Officers said they found Gidman, 32, in the property, topless and with blood on his face.

Gidman then picked up a chair and held it above his head, before one of the officers radioed for backup taser unit.

He then threw the chair and it hit one of the police officers in the head.

Gidman then adopted a “fighting stance” and “started jumping on the spot”, before hitting another officer three times in the head, causing him to fall to the ground.

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Another officer then sprayed Gidman in the eye with an incapacitant, and he was taken to the ground and handcuffed.

Gidman then used a barrage of racist language against another officer.

On July 23, close to Kirkstall Lane, an unmarked police vehicle had to swerve to avoid a Jaguar car driving on the wrong side of the road at “excessive speed”.

The Jaguar eventually collided with a Land Rover Defender, worth around £85,000. Both cars were written off after the crash.

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After Gidman escaped from the vehicle, one of the police officers chased him on foot, and saw he had got on a bus. After getting on the bus, the officer attempted to handcuff Gidman, before the defendant said “what are you going to do about it?” and pushed past her.

When Gidman was eventually caught, he was resisting arrest, so an officer used the incapacitant spray which accidentally blinded another officer temporarily.

Gidman was taken to hospital and, when questioned there by officers, gave a false name. He also refused to give a saliva or breath sample.

He later revealed that the car he was driving belonged to his dad.

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Gidman pleaded guilty to 11 charges, including several of assaulting emergency workers, racially aggravated harassment, dangerous driving, driving without insurance, driving while disqualified, aggravated vehicle-taking and failing to give a sample. It was also revealed Gidman was out on licence from previous offences and serving a driving ban at the time of the two offences.

Mitigating for Gidman, Eleanor Durdy told the court Gidman had suffered deeply with mental health problems and depression.

She added: “At the time, he was spiralling out of control, was on the wrong [medication] and was worried about going to prison. His granddad and cousin, who he was close to, had also recently passed away."

Sentencing Gidman, Recorder Andrew Latimer said: “[The police officer you punched] described it as the most powerful punch he had received since he became a police officer.”

He added, however, that he must allow for mitigation on Gidman’s mental health problems.

Rec Latimer sentenced Gidman to 12 months and 21 weeks imprisonment.