Police Scotland welcomes sentencing of man for attempted murder of officer

Wenjie Yu, 49, was jailed for ten years at the High Court in Paisley on Thursday (December 16), for the attempted murder of Police Constable Neil Kerr, and a further three years for drug offences.

He was also sentenced to another three years for drug offences and an accomplice, Wang Wen, 31, was sentenced to 55 months for drug offences.

PC Kerr, 37, was working with a number of officers investigating organised drug crime in the west end of Glasgow when a suspect car was stopped on Tuesday, July 21, 2020, and the driver and passenger were asked to step out of the vehicle.

The instruction was ignored by Yu who then deliberately drove his Mercedes at PC Kerr who was thrown over the front of the car and onto the road, sustaining serious head and leg injuries that required hospital treatment.

Detective Chief Inspector John Morrison, of Police Scotland’s Serious and Organised Crime Unit, said: “I welcome the sentencing of Yu and his accomplice. These men ignored instructions from officers to step out of their car.

“Yu is a dangerous man who deliberately and callously drove at an officer who was doing his job and ended up with serious injuries. Thankfully he has now recovered and is back on duty, a testament to his hard work and commitment to combatting organised crime.

“There has been an increasing number of reports of assaults on officers over the years and this sentence sends a clear message that assaults on Police Scotland staff will not be tolerated, all of whom are dedicated public servants.

“Chief Constable Iain Livingstone has made it clear that violence against officers and staff is utterly unacceptable and coming under attack should not be part of the job. He has outlined his commitment to reducing the impact violence has on our officers and staff and to introducing measures to improve their safety.”