Police Taser ‘drug-crazed’ drill man, 23

POLICE had to Taser a man at the end of a violent standoff in which officers were spat at, pelted with objects and threatened with a power drill.

Justin Cadwell issued a series of bizarre threats during the incident and said he would kill the officers if they came near him. Medics concluded the 23-year-old was suffering from a “druginduced psychotic episode” at the time.

Just weeks after this incident Cadwell ended up grappling with police in a Premier Inn hotel after officers had been called by staff over concerns about a resident’s cannabis use. The incident saw him grabbing and squeezing a policeman’s testicles as they brawled on the floor.

Swansea Crown Court heard the standoff happened on the morning of February 22 this year at a flat in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire.

Paul Hobson, prosecuting, said officers were called to the first-floor Dew Street property by neighbours who were worried about banging noises coming from the address.

The first two officers on the scene tried to talk to Cadwell but they were spat at by the defendant, who barricaded himself into the flat. As a result, officers with Tasers and shields were deployed.

The court heard police managed to get through the front door and found themselves at the bottom of a narrow flight of stairs which led up to the flat. At the top of the stairs was an agitated Cadwell.

The defendant proceeded to throw a range of items down at the police while issuing threats to kill them, ranting about the NHS and “telekinesis” – the supposed ability to move objects by mental power – and revving an electric drill.

Mr Hobson said a standoff then followed, with officers negotiating with Cadwell to try to end the incident peacefully. Eventually, about an hour after police had first been called to the flat, an officer was able to discharge his Taser and police rushed up the stairs and restrained Cadwell.

The defendant was subsequently taken to hospital, where he was assessed as being fit to be interviewed.

The court heard Cadwell was interviewed the following day, when he gave a series of “flippant” responses to questions before being released on bail.

Medics concluded he had probably been suffering from a “druginduced psychotic episode” during the incident.

Weeks after the Dew Street standoff, Cadwell was found to be in possession of three knives when police stopped his car in Pembroke Dock because of the strong smell of cannabis coming from the vehicle, and just a fortnight after that he attacked police in the reception of the Haverfordwest Premier Inn.

Both these incidents, though they happened after the standoff, were brought to court before it and have already been sentenced, with the defendant receiving nine weeks and 12 weeks in prison respectively.

Cadwell, of Picton Close in Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, admitted two counts of assaulting an emergency worker and a public order offence in relation to the standoff.

James Hartson, for Cadwell, said that the defendant had made great efforts to turn his life around over the summer.

The barrister said the three incidents should have been dealt with together rather than in piecemeal fashion.

Judge Paul Thomas QC said that he was prepared to suspend the sentence that was due for the standoff, albeit “not without misgivings”.

Giving the defendant credit for his guilty pleas, he sentenced him to a total of six months in prison suspended for 18 months and ordered him to complete 200 hours of unpaid work.