Police instructed not to stop shooting suspect’s car

A High Court trial heard that two police vehicles pursued a shooting suspect from a Scottish island without intercepting him, prior to him committing a subsequent assault. Police officers testified that they received orders to shadow, but not halt, Finlay MacDonald as he traveled from Skye – where he is accused of murdering his brother-in-law and attempting to stab his wife – to the village of Dornie in Ross-shire. In Dornie, Mr MacDonald, aged 41, faces accusations of attempting to murder John and Fay MacKenzie during a shooting incident at their residence. He refutes all charges and has submitted a special defence concerning the murder accusation, asserting that he was experiencing an abnormality of mind. Sergeant Christopher Tait, who held the rank of police constable at the time, informed the trial in Edinburgh that his initial instruction was to respond to a stabbing incident at Tarskavaig on the island, but this directive was subsequently updated to encompass a shooting. Sergeant Tait, 36, recounted seeing Mr MacDonald’s Subaru vehicle pass by, prompting him to execute a three-point turn and pursue the car. He then contacted the Police Scotland control room located in Dundee and was later accompanied by a police inspector in a separate vehicle. He stated that his blue-light sirens were initially activated but he deactivated them once he commenced following the Subaru. Sergeant Tait observed that Mr MacDonald seemed to be driving in a “normal” manner as they traversed the Skye Bridge, but noted that he “sped up” upon nearing the residence in Dornie. He remembered witnessing the driver at the top of the driveway, holding a firearm, before discharging it through the window. The driver reportedly then entered the house, where Sergeant Tait and his colleague pursued him, instructing him to drop the weapon. A taser was subsequently deployed against the gunman, and an injured man and woman were discovered inside the home. Sergeant Tait affirmed, when questioned by advocate depute Liam Ewing KC, that he had not made “operational decisions” on the day in question. Mr Ewing inquired of Sergeant Tait: “Did you consider an attempt to stop the Subaru at any point?” The police officer responded: “It did enter my head to come up with a plan to try and stop him but at the time I was told specialist firearms officers were coming up to stop him.” Donald Findlay KC, serving as defence counsel for Mr MacDonald, questioned him regarding the reason, to which he replied: “I was instructed by the control room.” Sergeant Tait stated that he deployed his taser twice after entering the house, having heard “shouting and screaming” emanating from within. He observed both residents of the house suffering from severe injuries. Sergeant Tait recounted that the man sustained a serious injury to his abdomen, while the woman appeared to have incurred a facial injury. The trial subsequently heard testimony from Inspector Bruce Crawford, who was driving the second police vehicle. When asked if an effort was made to stop Mr MacDonald’s car, he responded: “I requested permission to try and stop the vehicle and was told by the control room not to stop the vehicle.” Upon his arrival in Dornie, he observed the suspect discharge the shotgun through a window and loudly instructed him to put down the weapon; however, the man instead proceeded indoors. Inspector Crawford pursued the suspect, then heard two distinct loud bangs and a woman screaming. He discovered a man bleeding profusely from his side while engaged in a struggle with the gunman, concurrently, a woman, also bleeding, was hitting the assailant with a metal toilet roll holder. The police officer then deployed pava spray on the gunman and struck him with his baton, while a colleague utilized a Taser. Previously, the court was informed by Mr MacDonald’s sister, Lynne-Anne Mackinnon, that she knew he could be “socially awkward” and possessed “strange ways of thinking”. Nevertheless, she stated she was unaware he was autistic prior to him shooting and killing her husband. She further mentioned she did not know he had experienced bullying during high school. The trial, taking place at the High Court in Edinburgh, is ongoing.