Car-thief-jailed

Liam O’Callaghan, was reported to police by a member of the public, who had seen him with an accomplice trying door handles of parked cars in Cofton Park Drive, Rednal on 31 October 2017.

Two police officers who attended, spotted the two men and chased them on foot. The accomplice was stopped by one of the officers and co-operated. O’Callaghan however, struggled so violently with the officer who was trying to detain him, that he dislocated the officer’s arm and fractured his collar bone. O’Callaghan was arrested shortly afterwards by a dog handler, after a police dog got hold of his thigh. 

Detective Constable Darren Lennox, of Bournville CID, said: “The officer was held in a choke hold, preventing him from breathing, and still has a lasting injury almost a year on. Sadly this was the last shift he ever worked as he took the decision to give up his role with West Midlands Police. 

“The community has lost an officer with 15 years of experience under his belt and that is reflected in this lengthy sentence."

O’Callaghan, age 30 of Quinton Road West, Quinton, was sentenced to eight months for theft from a motor vehicle to run concurrently with 43 months for assaulting a police officer after pleading guilty at Birmingham Crown Court on 20 August.