Man who assaulted shop workers then stabbed police officer sent to prison

A man who stabbed a police officer in the head with a pointed vegetable peeler after assaulting two shop workers has been jailed for 19 months.

On the morning of March 30 this year, staff at a store in Northampton’s St James’ Retail Park found Parampreet Singh, aged 26, using a plug socket to charge his mobile phone.

When one staff member asked him to stop, Singh became verbally abusive and then violent towards him before also assaulting a second staff member, resulting in the police being called.

When Response officers arrived, Singh spent several minutes calmly trying to avoid answering their questions before launching a completely unprovoked attack using a pointed vegetable peeler as a weapon.

One officer suffered a significant stab wound to the top of his head, and another sustained deep scratch marks to his arm during the attack, which only ended when Singh was tasered.

After his arrest, Singh spat repeatedly inside a police van on his way to custody, where a packet of what was later found to be amphetamines was found during a search.

He went on to admit inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent, threatening a person with a blade/sharply pointed article in a public place, assault by beating of an emergency worker, assault by beating, common assault, possession of a Class B drug, and criminal damage.

Singh, of Heath Street, Birmingham, entered his guilty pleas at a court hearing on August 13, and at Northampton Crown Court on September 25, he was sentenced to a total of 19 months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay a £187 victim surcharge.

The court also recommended the Indian national be deported once he has served his sentence.

Speaking afterwards, investigating officer Detective Constable Roisin Harrison, of CID West, said: “I’m really pleased that Parampreet Singh has been jailed for his awful behaviour that morning.

“His actions in assaulting store staff and then police officers were entirely unprovoked and the violence he used was shocking, going from a calm situation to a ferocious attack in a split second.

“Singh used a sharp weapon to inflict a stab wound that could easily have been incredibly serious, and the effects on the officer went well beyond the physical injuries he caused.

“He was clearly heavily influenced by drugs that day, and apart from entering guilty pleas he has shown no remorse for his actions. Northamptonshire Police takes all forms of retail crime and violence incredibly seriously, and we will always do all we can to bring offenders to justice.”