Man to appear in court after trying to hit officer with an axe
A man has been charged with attempted murder following an incident in which he swung an axe at a police officer.
Stuart Whittaker, 34, will appear at Wirral Magistrates’ Court on Friday (June 29) and is also facing charges of wounding, threats to kill and threats with an offensive weapon in a public place.
No action will be taken against a 31-year-old woman who was also arrested at the scene of the incident.
On Thursday (June 28) at around 11.40pm, Merseyside Police was called to a disturbance at a house on Turret Road, Wallasey.
On arrival, Whittaker left the house and swung an axe in the direction of an officer outside the property. The axe was then picked up by a female and she was detained.
As officers went into the property, they found a 30-year-old man who had suffered two lacerations to his head. His injuries were not life-threatening.
Whittaker, who had left the property through the back door, was located nearby a short while later.
Assistant Chief Constable Ian Critchley said: “This incident serves as a stark reminder of the dangers our officers face every single day, putting themselves in harm’s way to deal with dangerous and unpredictable situations.
“The very nature of the job means officers go into challenging situations such as this knowing the risks they face.
“Despite this, officers continue to put themselves on the front line protecting our communities and incidents such as this again shows the very real dangers that officers face to keep us all safe day in, day out – I’ve spoken and personally thanked the officer for his fantastically brave work, and he will receive any support needed moving forward from our organisation.”
