Man fatally shot at police station 'licked knife'

A sergeant on duty when a man was fatally shot after entering a police station car park holding a knife and a bag with a cat inside said "there's no doubt he would've stabbed me or one of the other officers".

A jury has been hearing more evidence at the inquest of Marius Ciolac, who was shot outside Ascot Drive police station in the city on the morning of 7 October 2022.

Sgt Anthony England, of Derbyshire Police, told Derby Coroner's Court on Thursday that he recalled seeing a male in the car park smashing the first layer of double-glazed windows.

He described it as a "bizarre" incident, adding the man appeared to "lick" the blade in front of the officers.

The jury heard Mr Ciolac, originally from Cernavoda in Romania, entered the police station compound through a sliding gate at about 10:00 GMT before a Taser, a baton round and a stun grenade were used, and Mr Ciolac was shot in the abdomen minutes later.

He was given first aid at the scene but went into cardiac arrest and died in hospital.

Sgt England was in the station building with other officers when Mr Ciolac broke through the first layer of the double-glazed window.

He told the jury Mr Ciolac put his face against the window and appeared to "lick" the blade.

Mr Ciolac died after being shot in the lower abdomen, a post-mortem examination found

Sgt England said he could not understand what he was saying, and said his "English was broken" and he "seemed to have an eastern European accent".

"My main concern was him getting out of that compound and members of the public he could easily get to," he told the inquest.

The jury was told officers tried to communicate with Mr Ciolac and told him to put the knife down.

"There's no doubt he would have stabbed me or another officer," Sgt England said.

The jury was told two firearms officers were called to the scene within minutes, and Sgt England said he could hear voices and a shot.

Mr Ciolac went into cardiac arrest and was taken to the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham, where he died

PC Paul Trussell, who was also in the building at the time, said: "In 25 years, I have never dealt with anything like this in my service."

Describing Mr Ciolac's demeanour, he said the 35-year-old was "possessed" and that he "had a purpose, determination in his eyes".

PC Trussell told the inquest he saw Mr Ciolac "stabbing the glaze and it shattered", and recalls telling him "drop the knife" several times.

Addressing the coroner, he said: "To be honest ma'am - I was scared.

"The only thing separating this man and me was a single glaze.

"He hit the glass with such force and anger I thought if he got into the building he would kill one of us."

PC Trussell said the first thing he did when he got home that day was "to give my partner a hug and I cried".

"Knowing that someone had died, knowing that I could have died, knowing that my colleagues could have died, it was a lot to take in," he added.

The inquest continues.