'Superhuman' fanatic needed nine police officers to stop him

Former bus driver Abderrahim El-Harti, who was barefoot and wearing white Islamic dress, fought off nine police officers, a police rottweiler, numerous baton blows to the body and the effects of two cans of CS gas.

The tall, stockily-built man barely flinched as he carried on walking down the street chanting "Allah" loudly as he listened to prayers on his MP3 player with a 12-inch silver kitchen carving knife raised at shoulder-height ready to plunge like a dagger.

El-Harti's march towards Sheffield city centre only ended when an officer managed to strike him over the head with his baton after an attempt to run him over with a police van failed.

The jury returned a special verdict, finding El-Harti not guilty of wounding two police officers by reason of insanity.

The verdict requires the judge Mr Justice Openshaw to dispose of the case and he indicated he would take the option of making a long-term hospital order.

El-Harti, married with two children, appeared in the dock at Sheffield Crown Court flanked by five nurses. His family was said to have a history of mental illness. He has been in a secure mental hospital since his arrest.

The prosecution, unusually, had argued, along with the defence, that El-Harti was not guilty of the offences by reason of insanity.

Jurors were told the defendant heard voices in his head telling him he was a demon.

His behaviour became increasingly bizarre before his wife reported him walking out of the house. Doctors who examined El-Harti said he was psychotic.

Pc John Bowerman told Sheffield Crown Colurt that El-Harti had a fixed stare ahead and was breathing heavily as he resisted all attempts by nine officers to stop him.

The policeman said: "He seemed to have superhuman strength and resistance."

El-Harti, 42, of Meersbrook, Sheffield denied wounding Pc Matthew Duffy with intent and attempting to wound Pc Mark Adams with intent.

Prosecutor Paul Watson QC said two psychiatrists were consulted and they concluded the defendant was suffering a serious mental illness and was not responsible for his actions.

He was seen walking down a road with the knife near his home on June 9 last year.

Pc Duffy said nine officers had given him repeated warnings and tried to disarm him by hitting him with batons.

When that failed the contents of two cans of CS gas were squirted into his face. He merely blinked and carried on walking.

When dog handler Pc Adams turned up with his rottweiler El-Harti tried to stab the dog which backed off and would not bite him.

He only gave up when officers rained blows on his head, rendering him unconscious.

Pc Adams said: "He was continuously chanting in a foreign language. It was almost like a religious chant. I heard the word Allah."

El-Harti kept lashing out with his knife at the dog. Two or three officers sprayed CS gas in the defendant's face. El-Harti was struck on his legs and torso with batons as officers surrounded him. It had no effect and El-Harti lashed out even more.

Pc Adams had to run to escape El-Harti who tried to knife him in the back. He shouted to a colleague in a van: "Run him over, we have go to stop him somehow."

Pc Karen Gunnill rammed El-Harti with her van but he stayed on his feet and then dived on PC Duffy.

El-Harti stabbed the officer in the shoulder but his body armour protected him. Fearing for his colleague's life, Pc Adams struck El-Harti on the head with his baton with all his might. Other officers hit him El-Harti and managed to restrain him.