Man who shot police officer with crossbow after stabbing member of the public jailed

At Amersham Law Courts on Wednesday (August 20), Jason King, 55, of School Close, High Wycombe, was given an extended sentence of 12 years, consisting of nine years’ imprisonment and a further three years on licence for section 18 grievous bodily harm with intent, section 20 grievous bodily harm, affray, possession of an offensive weapon, namely a crossbow, and possession of a bladed article in a public place.

King was convicted of the offences on September 20, 2024.

Two other charges on the indictment, criminal damage and cultivation of cannabis, will lie on file.

The incident happened at around 6pm on May 10, 2024, when King was involved in an altercation with a neighbour on School Close in Downley.

King stabbed the victim, a man aged in his sixties, to the stomach, before leaving the scene.

Police were called, and when the first, unarmed officers arrived, King started shooting at them with a crossbow out of the window of his address.

Armed officers were on their way but King then came out of the address with the crossbow so the officers withdrew.

However, King chased the officers, firing a crossbow bolt at PC Curtis Foster, striking him in the leg, causing a significant injury.

“PC Foster has since made a full recovery from his injuries,” said Thames Valley Police.

“A police dog handler and dog, PD Merlyn then confronted King, who then threatened them with the crossbow, but thankfully neither the handler nor the dog, were injured.

“King continued to pose a significant threat to the local community and armed officers arrived quickly and confronted King in a local park.

“After ordering him to drop the crossbow, King began moving towards the exit to the park where PC Foster had run to escape. The armed officer then fired one shot at King, striking him in the abdomen, bringing the threat he posed to an end.”

King was provided with immediate first aid and was taken to hospital under police supervision with potentially life-changing injuries, and was discharged ten days later, when he was arrested and taken into police custody.

He was charged on May 22, 2024.

The original assault victim was also treated in hospital for a stab wound and was discharged on the same day.

Senior investigating officer Detective Inspector Nick Hind, of Thames Valley Police’s Major Crime Unit, said: “The courage of our officers in dealing with this incident was second to none.

“On what was a warm spring evening, King undertook some extreme violence, stabbing a neighbour before arming himself with a crossbow and going back outside, where he posed a considerable threat to the local community.

“Our unarmed officers initially confronted King, but withdrew when they realised he had a crossbow on him.

“King then chased our officers, firing a crossbow bolt at PC Foster, striking him in the leg causing a significant injury.

“He continued to pose a threat, running into a park, where moments earlier, police had cleared children away from the danger. King also threatened our police dog and handler with the crossbow, but thankfully, neither dog nor handler were injured.

“When confronted by armed officers, King, rather than putting the weapon down, made moves to follow retreating officers from the park, resulting in a split-second decision from one of our officers to fire a single shot to incapacitate King and bring the threat to a conclusion.

“The impact this incident had in the local community cannot be underestimated. King was an extremely dangerous man, who posed a significant threat to police, other emergency services and members of the community.

“He had already stabbed a neighbour before shooting at our officers, and I believe the actions of all the officers responding to this incident prevented the potential of mass casualty event.”

Det Insp Hind added: “Following the police shooting of King, a mandatory referral was made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

“Their investigation concluded in November, in which they praised the courage of our officers at bringing the incident to a conclusion with no other member of the public injured.

“I would like to pay tribute to all of the officers who responded to this dangerous incident, but in particular, PC Foster, his colleague PC Cameron Parker-Graham, the two armed response officers, and our dog handler.

“I would also like to recognise the call handler in contact management, Vicky Price, who calmly dealt with the initial 999 call into the police, despite her being very new in post.

“Everybody involved in this incident have been commended by the IOPC, and it goes without saying, that I am immensely proud of all of those who responded.

“Jason King will now serve a substantial prison sentence as a result of his violent actions on May 10, 2024. The community and residents of Downley are much safer for it. I would like to thank everybody in the community for their support and understanding while we investigated this horrific incident.”

In the sentencing hearing, His Honour Judge Cooper commended PC Foster and all of his colleagues for their immense bravery.