Man desperate to be arrested pulled knife out on Calderdale police officer

Daniel Lister, aged 43, thought he had achieved that by being spotted shoplifting.

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But when the police decided to deal with the offending with only a warning he pulled out a knife.

Lister, now of Blaen Waun, Newcastle Emlyn, west Wales, admitted possessing a knife in a public place, assaulting a police officer and failing to attend court hearings.

Gareth Waite, prosecuting, told Swansea crown court how on March 3 last year staff at a supermarket, told a police officer standing outside that a shoplifter had left and gone to the nearby Dusty Miller pub in Mytholmroyd.

Pc Mathew Hobson arrested Lister and placed him in a police car.

On told he would be released with a warning Lister pulled out an opened lock knife and tried to snatch an incapacitating spray from the officer.

After a struggle Pc Hobson managed to wrestle him to the ground and handcuff him.

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Lister told the police he had wanted to be arrested and held in custody because he was fearful of returning home.

He explained that drug dealers had forced their way in and were using his home as a den to sell from.

Lister’s barrister, Carina Hughes, said he had found himself in a desperate situation.

Since the incident, she said, Lister had moved to Newcastle Elmyn to be near his mother, who lived in Lampeter.

Judge Geraint Walters told Lister he had to rid himself of his own drug issues before he could get on with his life.

Lister was jailed for six months and ordered to complete 15 days of a rehabilitation activity.

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