A career criminal with more than 200 offences to his name is suing police after he was knocked off his bike by a patrol car when the officer tried to stop him cycling away.
James McNeilly, whose criminal record stretches back 25 years and includes violent robberies and defrauding a blind man, was in court to be jailed for the third time in 18 months when his solicitor revealed the legal action during mitigation.
The 46-year-old was pursued by a police car with blue lights on after the occupants spotted him throwing a sandwich on the ground while sitting stationary at traffic lights in Norwich, Norfolk.
When he pedalled away, the vehicle followed him and bumped into him, causing minor injuries when he fell. He didn’t seek hospital treatment.
Addressing magistrates in the city, James Burrows, defending, said: ‘He has a civil claim against the police for an incident where he was hit by a police car, resulting in leg injuries and head trauma.’
