Molotov cocktail police attacker jailed for life
A man who tried to murder a police officer while armed with Molotov cocktails has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 22 years.
Alexander Dighton, 28 from Pontyclun, Rhondda Cynon Taf, was wearing body armour when he carried out the attack outside Talbot Green police station in January.
Counter terror police said Dighton was interviewed by officers a year before the attack, but was believed not to be a threat.
Dighton injured several officers and admitted trying to murder a police officer with a knife and was sentenced at the Old Bailey in London.
Due to the time Dighton spent on remand he will spend a minimum term of 21 years and 235 days before he can be considered for parole.
The court heard he was also made subject of terrorist notification requirements for 30 years.
Judge Mark Lucraft KC said the crimes committed by Dighton "satisfies all the offences have terrorist connections."
"You targeted the police as a keystone of government power," he added.
He added Dighton had wanted to make a statement that the government had failed in its duties to uphold law and order and his attack had involved "significant planning" with the intent of "serious violence".
"I note your online activity shows increasing fixation on issues like diversity, paedophilia, immigration, anti-Islamic sentiment and dissatisfaction with the British government," he added.
Frank Ferguson, head of CPS special crime and counter terrorism division, said: "By his own admission he wanted to take the life of a police officer, to cause damage and spill blood."
Dighton arrived at Talbot Green police station in January armed with a hatchet, a pole and Molotov cocktails.
Brandishing his weapons, he told PC Stephanie Fleming, who confronted him: "I'm fed up, I'm done."
Dighton threw one Molotov cocktail at a police van, but it failed to ignite, so he poured petrol onto another and set it alight.
He then used a long wooden pole to smash the van's windows.
Dighton was tasered and sprayed with Pava spray, but it had no effect.
He attacked Sgt Richard Coleman in the station foyer, hitting him in the head with the pole, and then punched Det Con Joshua Emlyn.
At this point three police officers attempted to restrain Dighton, and he stabbed Det Con Jack Cotton in the leg, wounding him.
Dighton represented himself in court at a previous hearing and admitted attempted murder with a knife, attempted arson, attacking two other police officers, and threatening a third - pleading guilty to a total of 11 charges.
Two officers were treated in hospital for their injuries.
The judge told the Old Bailey on Friday the officers were in a state of shock and some thought they were going to die.
Before sentencing, Ch Supt Stephen Jones, of South Wales Police, said the officers were doing "remarkably well", but said it has had a "profound impact" on their families.
"Ultimately officers are public servants, but they're also fathers, mothers, wives and husbands and sons and daughters, and the impact on their families has been really heartfelt," he said.
"We face these perils, and quite often unexpectedly", he said.
He said the officers had to respond to a "committed, lone individual who was exceptionally aggressive".
After, Ch Supt Jones insisted Talbot Green remained a "very safe and quiet area" but acknowledged it had experienced two separate major incidents within a few weeks of each other.
"We have increased patrols and increased the number of officers working out of Talbot Green to protect the community," he added.
At a previous court hearing Dighton told the judge, Mrs Justice Cheema Grubb: "Authority is not my problem - but the use of authority that I have seen since I was 15, that is my problem."
Dighton was motivated by anti-government ideology, and when he was arrested he said: "I've been damned from birth."
Police believe Dighton began planning his attack a month before the incident.
When his home in Pontyclun, was searched journals containing anti-immigrant ideologies and a return to "traditional" society were found.
Dighton was already known to counter-terrorism police in Wales, he was interviewed by officers a year before the attack.
He was referred to the Prevent, a counter extremism programme in January 2024, by his sister where officers carried out a three week "detailed assessment" of Dighton.
Prosecutor Nicholas Hearn said she had stated he was "vulnerable as he has gone missing previously and has attempted suicide."
Det Supt Andrew Williams of Counter Terrorism Policing Wales said: "He was referred to us following concerns around his anti-immigration stance, his anti-Islam stance and his general racist views."
He said Dighton was interviewed "at length" and "due-diligence checks" were carried out to make sure officers "knew about him and his history".
He said Dighton "did not fit the criteria" to be included on the Prevent programme.
"There was no information at all from that assessment or from that referral that would give any indication whatsoever that Alexander Dighton would go on, a year later, to commit an attack of this nature," Det Supt Williams said.
He said he believed the initial assessment of Dighton was correct.
"I am very confident in the assessment and skills of those officers and support them completely in the decisions they undertook," he said.
Asked if he was satisfied Dighton was de-radicalised, or did not present a threat, Det Supt Williams said: "I am happy that's the case, yes."
Dighton previously pleaded guilty to attempted arson and attempting to murder Det Con Jack Cotton.
He also admitted assaulting Sgt Richard Coleman, threatening PC Stephanie Fleming, assaulting Det Con Joshua Emlyn, having an adapted wooden pole as a weapon, having a knife, having a hatchet, damaging a police van, and damaging a second police van.
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