Ambulance and police vehicles at scene of shooting in Gobnascale on Saturday April 17
Noel Quigley, aged 46, will serve 18 months in prison with the remainder of the sentence on supervised licence.
He was sentenced for the offences of attempting to wound with intent to do grievous bodily harm and assault occasioning actual bodily harm in relation to an incident in Gobnascale in Derry on Saturday, April 17, 2021.
As officers were dealing with the incident at the address in Celadine Court, a police firearm was discharged and the male at the address sustained a chest injury.
A police officer sustained a knife wound during the incident.
Quigley contacted police to report that he was going to harm himself.
Police attended his home where Quigley was sitting in the living room with a knife in each hand.
He attempted to harm himself and police intervened and tried to reason with him.
Police used CS spray during the intervention and it was then Quigley “lunged at police with both knives”.
He was warned to drop them but started lashing out, “stabbing and slashing about the head” of a PSNI constable.
The attack only ended when another police officer used his firearm.
Quigley was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast for treatment.
He has 15 previous convictions for assaulting police and these range from him biting police to headbutting, kicking and punching officers as well as making threats to stab police with syringes.
Speaking after sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Michael O’Loan said: “Our officers had responded to a call for concern for safety.
They went to address to help, and were faced with a difficult and volatile situation. This could have had a much different outcome.
“Our officers are here to help people, and protect communities and we are committed to doing all we can to keep people safe and protecting communities.
“However, no matter what the situation is, or the circumstances are, being assaulted is not ‘part of the job’, and we hope this sentence illustrates that anyone who assaults police should expect to be held accountable by the courts.”
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